June 21, 2013 at 17:23Bill on arbitrary blocking sites adopted
Today, the bill passed the second and third reading in the Duma. Its final version is even worse than the intermediate ones. All amendments to the Internet industry , which could add a little common sense to the regulatory mechanism, were completely ignored.
The current text of the project prohibits, among other things, posting links to pages on which exclusive rights could potentially be violated, and establishes liability for such actions. The wording added to the law is so vague that it can be applied to anyone - to search engines, to bona fide resources, and simply to people.
Here is a part of it: “... a person who provides the ability to post material or information necessary to receive it using the information and telecommunication network, a person who provides the opportunity to access material in this network, - the information intermediary - is responsible for the violation of intellectual rights in information telecommunication network on the general grounds provided for by this Code, if fault is present. ” Apparently, according to legislators, before posting any links anywhere - for example, in comments on a social network - anyone should seek the consent of all possible copyright holders.
An article containing this wording is added to the general provisions of the fourth part of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This means that it will apply to all objects of exclusive rights, including literary works, photographs, music, patents, trademarks, etc. In addition, the article says that a notification to a provider about blocking any content or links to it can contain only an IP address. This approach is technically illiterate and jeopardizes the very existence of search engines and any other Internet resources.
In this version, the bill is directed against the logic of the Internet and will hit absolutely everyone - not only Internet users and website owners, but also the copyright holders themselves. The chosen regulation method is fighting not with the pirates, but with the Internet - it’s the same as permanently closing the highway on which one accident occurred.
According to the procedure, the law will enter into force on August 1. From that moment on, anyone who posted a link somewhere could be held responsible “on a common basis”.
The story does not end there. In the autumn, the deputies are likely going to continue lawmaking in this area and extend the introduced mechanism to other copyright objects (in the current bill, these are only “films, including films, television films”). Despite the current situation, we will not abandon attempts to convey to the State Duma the possibility of solving the problem of piracy without harming the development of the Russian Internet.
The current text of the project prohibits, among other things, posting links to pages on which exclusive rights could potentially be violated, and establishes liability for such actions. The wording added to the law is so vague that it can be applied to anyone - to search engines, to bona fide resources, and simply to people.
Here is a part of it: “... a person who provides the ability to post material or information necessary to receive it using the information and telecommunication network, a person who provides the opportunity to access material in this network, - the information intermediary - is responsible for the violation of intellectual rights in information telecommunication network on the general grounds provided for by this Code, if fault is present. ” Apparently, according to legislators, before posting any links anywhere - for example, in comments on a social network - anyone should seek the consent of all possible copyright holders.
An article containing this wording is added to the general provisions of the fourth part of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This means that it will apply to all objects of exclusive rights, including literary works, photographs, music, patents, trademarks, etc. In addition, the article says that a notification to a provider about blocking any content or links to it can contain only an IP address. This approach is technically illiterate and jeopardizes the very existence of search engines and any other Internet resources.
In this version, the bill is directed against the logic of the Internet and will hit absolutely everyone - not only Internet users and website owners, but also the copyright holders themselves. The chosen regulation method is fighting not with the pirates, but with the Internet - it’s the same as permanently closing the highway on which one accident occurred.
According to the procedure, the law will enter into force on August 1. From that moment on, anyone who posted a link somewhere could be held responsible “on a common basis”.
The story does not end there. In the autumn, the deputies are likely going to continue lawmaking in this area and extend the introduced mechanism to other copyright objects (in the current bill, these are only “films, including films, television films”). Despite the current situation, we will not abandon attempts to convey to the State Duma the possibility of solving the problem of piracy without harming the development of the Russian Internet.