Russia Legalizes Piracy in Response to Sanctions

Russia has reportedly relaxed it’s copyright laws in response to sanctions by Western nations. According to local news media, this week the Russian government has stated that Russian companies have no obligation to pay any patent holders from countries that have sanctions against Russia for their intellectual property. According to state-backed newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Russian government has now effectively legalized piracy with the introduction of new laws that allow Russian firms to use innovations from unfriendly countries without paying to use the IP.

Last week, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development told reporters that it was considering lifting IP rules in order to circumvent sanctions:

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. 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.

– Russian Ministry of Economic Development to news agency Tass

Last week Russian politician Dmitry Ionin also stated that Russia may unblock torrenting site RuTracker. This would allow Russian citizens to download the latest Hollywood movies that are not being released in Russia, as well as many other TV shows, games and more that have been blocked as a result of sanctions.

The sanctions against Russia have been widespread and affect many different industries. As previously reported, many Hollywood movies have halted their releases in Russia and Belarus, and popular streaming service Netflix has also blocked Russians from accessing their service. The games industry has also responded to requests for help from Ukraine based developers like GSC Game World and also Ukrainian deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov. As a result, many of the biggest names in gaming including Microsoft, EA, CD Projekt Red and others have halted sales in Russia and Belarus.

This week has also seen Nintendo and Sony halt sales in Russia as well. Nintendo has not taken a particularly aggressive stance against the invasion, stating only that it has suspended shipping it’s products “due to considerable volatility surrounding the logistics of shipping and distributing physical goods.” The company  has also placed the Russian eShop into maintenance mode, cutting off access to digital games in Russia. Nintendo has also indefinitely delayed the release of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp “in light of recent world events.”

Sony had previously halted the release of new sim racer Gran Turismo 7 in Russia, but has now released a statement in which the company states that they have suspended all software and hardware sales in Russia, and are planning to make a donation of $2 Million US to various charities:

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine. We have suspended all software and hardware shipments, the launch of Gran Turismo 7, and operations of the PlayStation Store in Russia. To support humanitarian aid, Sony Group Corporation announced a US$2 million donation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international NGO, Save the Children, to support the victims of this tragedy.

Other companies have similarly offered other forms of support and aid, including a massive itch.io bundle containing almost 1000 items including games, tabletop RPGs, books and more. The bundle, worth over $6500, is being sold for $10 though the site is urging people to pay more. The bundle is available until March 18th, and has at the time of writing surpassed its goal of $4 million with a total of $4,121,832.61. All proceeds from the bundle will be split between the International Medical Corps and Voices of Children, a Ukrainian organization that helps children cope with the horrors of war, PTSD, readjusting to school, and getting back to being kids.

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