[Cornutopian]

(from Russian Law Blog » Blog Archive » Intellectual Property Code of the Russian Federation enters into force on 01/01/2008)

On January 1, 2008 the fourth part of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation will enter into force. The fourth part of the Code is dedicated to the protection of copyright for literary works and of other intellectual property rights. The document is the most important source of intellectual property law in Russia.

Besides the all-important and widely discussed issues of Russia’s compliance with the world tendencies in IP law, the Fourth Part of the Code is seen as a significant hurdle to Russian libraries and individuals who publish electronic copies of literary works either online, or distribute such copies in other electronic formats (e.g. for PDAs.)

The most significant change will be that a written consent of the author or, if author had died less than 70 years ago, the author’s relatives must be obtained prior to the electronic publication. To the biggest Russian library, the Russian State Library in Moscow, which has approx. 20 million books on its shelves, this requirement will be a major headache. The Library already has a significant number of electronic publications available to subscribers, but not all of them have the author’s written permission.

Another famous phenomenon of the Russian Internet, Lib.Ru: Áèáëèîòåêà Ìàêñèìà Ìîøêîâà, a collection of electronic copies of literature works in Russian and other languages, will also have to take down most of its content if it ever intends to comply with the Fourth Part of the Code. Over the years, the website has served as an example of blatant violation of authors’ rights. For instance, the first three parts of the “Harry Potter” series, translated into Russian by volunteer translators, appeared on the website prior to the official release of the books in Russia.

[skyforger]

certainly not

[RedSmurf]

Songs are not literary works...

[Dave C]

Originally Posted by RedSmurf

Songs are not literary works...

You try telling that to Bob Dylan

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by Dave C

You try telling that to Bob Dylan

Very Good Dave............

[Cornutopian]

Originally Posted by Nightfly

Very Good Dave............

You guys are all making jokes, but if the legal basis for MP3Sparks has been removed then that is a pretty big deal. Yes the article says "literary works" but it is just an article about the law. That is where it was focused. However, the main point was that previously electronic copies of works were allowed without permission of the copyright holder and now the copyright holder's permission is required. If that now applies to other than written works (and why wouldn't it?) then all the Russian sites are in violation.

While it may be that the system is corrupt enough that prosecutors will look the other way for businesses that are "under the radar" this would represent a change in the very premise (compulsory licensing) under which these sites operate. That calls into question both there long term viability AND their moral appropriateness.

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by Cornutopian

You guys are all making jokes, but if the legal basis for MP3Sparks has been removed then that is a pretty big deal. Yes the article says "literary works" but it is just an article about the law. That is where it was focused. However, the main point was that previously electronic copies of works were allowed without permission of the copyright holder and now the copyright holder's permission is required. If that now applies to other than written works (and why wouldn't it?) then all the Russian sites are in violation.

While it may be that the system is corrupt enough that prosecutors will look the other way for businesses that are "under the radar" this would represent a change in the very premise (compulsory licensing) under which these sites operate. That calls into question both there long term viability AND their moral appropriateness.

Sorry Cornutopian,

Didn't mean to make light of your post...just a Dylan fan.

But on your excellent posting, of course they are down now because
of some legality and politics. And though I am not a lawyer,
your post makes a lot of dam sense and at leat poses some concrete
reason why Mp3sparks may be down.

Thanks for the the great post.

[Namroc]

While it does say 'literary works' would songs not come under "other intellectual property rights"?

[MBillings]

Skyforger is MP3SKYLINE staff???????????

Can you help explain this to us? Your site is still up AND directly taking credit card payments. Thanks for this! What happened on 1/1/08 that has the rest of the system in a bind, and how are you able to keep going?

Thanks!

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by MBillings

Skyforger is MP3SKYLINE staff???????????

Can you help explain this to us? Your site is still up AND directly taking credit card payments. Thanks for this! What happened on 1/1/08 that has the rest of the system in a bind, and how are you able to keep going?

Thanks!

MBillings,

Skyforger is a visiting representitive and is under no obligation
to answer questions about his business dealings.

They are to be respected as special vistors that we are happy
to have them on our sites as members.I saw in another post
that you are a newbie.So I understand that you did
not know this standard towards visiting Reps.

Thank you for your understanding,