Russia to enforce intellectual property rights?
As a follow up to my post on Allofmp3.com. - Discount music site smacked by Denmark Courts.
It is being reported in the New York Times, BBC and MosNews that, baring any unforeseen glitches, Russia will be granted entry into the World Trade Organization, WTO, next Wednesday, when President Bush and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin will be in Hanoi, Vietnam, for an Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
One of the issues that caused a 14 year delay for Russian entry into the WTO was the lack of protections for intellectual property rights.
Now, according to the mosnews.com (are they an approved Russian news agency?), the Russian Parliament has given preliminary approval to a strict new law designed to protect the intellectual property rights of the legitimate rights owners. Although the law still needs to pass one more reading before Parliament, it appears that passage is imminent and will remove one of the last obstacles to Russia membership to the WTO
Back to allofmp3.com, it appears that Allofmp3.com will be in violation of the new law. What will be of interest to watch, is whether Russia will enforce this law. Historically, the Russian government has been less than enthusiastic about enforcement support of such laws.
As recently as last month, U.S. Trade Representative, Susan Schwab, named the Russian internet music site, allofmp3.com, as the world’s worst offender in the market of pirated downloadable music. That site is still operating. Stay tuned.
Well, I was born in the former Soviet Union, so, in my experience, there’s quite a dichotomy between any legislation that is passed and the way it is enforced and applied. In spite of Putin’s best efforts - and how earnest they were is subject to debate, of course - corruption remains very much a part of everyday Russian experience, especially when you’re dealing with a sector as lucrative as forgeries and IPR violations.
To be sure, the new legislation is a step in the right direction, but I, for one, am inclined to wait and see how effective it proves to be before announcing a major victory - or even a serious step forward - for the IPR cause in Russia.