Russian government rolls back intellectual property rights in response to Western sanctions
The Russian government is pushing forwards with plans to undermine intellectual property rules and reverse the rights of Western patent holders, in an effort to counter the impacts of Western sanctions.
The Russian government this week said Russian companies have no obligation to pay patent holders from countries that sanctioned Russia for use of their intellectual property, according to local media reports.
The Russian government has effectively legalised piracy by introducing new laws stating that Russian firms are allowed to use innovations from unfriendly countries without paying to use the IP, according to state-backed newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
The reports come after Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development last week told reporters that it was considering lifting IP rules to counter sanctions, with a view to encouraging Russian producers to manufacture certain goods.
“The possibility of lifting restrictions on the use of intellectual property contained in certain goods, the supply of which to Russia is limited, is being considered,” the Ministry said to Russian news agency Tass.
“This will smooth out the impact on the market of breaks in supply chains, as well as the shortage of goods and services that arose due to new sanctions by Western countries.”
Last week, Russian politician Dmitry Ionin said Russia may also unblock torrenting site RuTracker with a view to helping Russians watch Hollywood films.