Coercion without restrictions – Newspaper Kommersant No. 16 (7461) of 01/30/2023

The proposals of the Federation Council to allow the distribution of foreign films in the Russian Federation without the consent of the copyright holders can be implemented in an expanded version: the Ministry of Justice considers it necessary to introduce the practice, including in online cinemas. The latter initially opposed the idea of ​​compulsory licensing of content, not wanting to exacerbate the crisis in relations with foreign producers. Since then, the problems of online cinemas have escalated, they began to lose not only new releases, but also popular old films. But the measure is still deeply unpopular in the market – not even all offline cinemas support it, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Culture oppose it.

Kommersant got acquainted with a letter from the Ministry of Justice sent to the government at the end of December regarding the introduction of a compulsory license in the field of offline film distribution. We are talking about a draft resolution prepared by a member of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Eduard Isakov (the document was submitted to the government in October 2022, it has not yet been submitted to the State Duma). As a measure to support cinemas, the committee proposed to allow offline rental of foreign films without the consent of rights holders from unfriendly countries. They should be paid some remuneration. The government, according to Kommersant’s information, requested the positions of the relevant departments, the letter from the Ministry of Justice was one of the answers. The ministry did not answer “Kommersant”.

In January, TASS, citing reviews from the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Culture, reported that the ministries as a whole did not support the project of Eduard Isakov. However, the position of the Ministry of Justice is different. In the recall, officials point to a number of technical shortcomings, but one of the key shortcomings is the limitation of the scheme to only offline rental, while the “unfriendly and unfair actions” of foreign copyright holders (referring to supply content to Russia after the start of the military operation in Ukraine) are “negative in a way influenced a number of areas”, including Russian online cinemas.

In the summer of 2022, a similar draft by deputy Dmitry Kuznetsov was submitted to the State Duma, he was just proposing to introduce a compulsory license not only for offline rental, but also for streaming video services (see Kommersant dated August 19, 2022). After a number of negative reviews, Mr. Kuznetsov stated that he would reschedule the option, which would apply only to offline rentals, but this did not happen. Now, in fact, just such a document is criticized, on the contrary, for insufficient breadth of coverage.

The situation on the market since last summer, however, has also changed, Russian online cinemas have worsened problems with concluding agreements with foreign copyright holders. If in the spring it was only about the loss of new content, it has now become obvious that the rights to many films will not be renewed: from February 1, the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film franchises will disappear from Russian online cinemas, Amediateka reported. Libraries were reduced by an average of 10% (see Kommersant of January 20).

However, the industry continues to insist that “compulsory license” initiatives increase the risk of new sanctions. “They are destroying the export potential of all domestic intellectual property, from cinema and music to patents and software,” emphasizes Aleksey Byrdin, head of the Internet Video Association. The Association of Cinema Owners supports the idea of ​​the Federation Council, but large networks, including the combined Formula Kino and Cinema Park networks, believe that the market can do without this measure: “There are prerequisites for a civilized development path, provided that the state is ready to support filmmakers and subsidize cinemas.”

At the same time, Anatoly Semyonov, deputy chairman of the RSPP Committee on Intellectual Property, believes that the Ministry of Justice “rationally indicates that the” culture of canceling “copyrights has hit all types of objects, and not just cinema.” From this point of view, the expert believes, the law adopted in Belarus on limiting the right to intellectual property for right holders from unfriendly countries in exchange for payments is logical.

Valeria Lebedeva