Russia has long been preparing for this senseless war with Ukraine. It is now evident. The last, evident proof, is a document drawn up by the Ministry of Economic Development which contains a series of proposals aimed at keeping Russia alive and operational even in the event of heavy economic sanctions. Among these also appears the possibility of make software piracy legal.
Does piracy become legal? It is a possibility
The invasion of Ukraine was certainly not without consequences for the Russian Federation. The United States, the European Union and many other countries have imposed very heavy economic sanctions, flanked by many companies that have decided to suspend activities in the country. On the technological front we find Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, Samsung, Netflix and many more.
However, this does not seem to slow down the Russian offensive, also because the country seems to have prepared itself well in advance for war.
Among the countermeasures adopted by Putin there is also a document called “Priority action plan to ensure the development of the Russian economy even in conditions of sanctions”.
The plan, drawn up by Ministry of Economic Developmentprovides a long list of actions that should also affect copyrights, patents and registered trademarks.
Point 6.7.3, in particular, is dedicated to problem of suspension or revocation of software licenses. Currently the piracy it is illegal but, if these measures were taken, it would become instead legal, at least in some cases.
The proposal says: “Elimination of the consequences for the use of unlicensed software within the Russian Federation, if the owner of the copyright belongs to one of the countries that imposed the sanctions.”
The proposal provides for the removal of both civil and criminal consequences but it is not clear how this would allow the use of all those programs that use the cloud instead.
Alongside all this there is the possibility of importing products illegally, without respect for copyright and registered trademarks.
The return of torrents
According to the Gazeta.ru website, politician Dmitry Ionin seems to have suggested to Russian citizens to use good old torrents to download all those movies that won’t make it to Russian soil. In fact, many production companies, including Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., have decided not to bring the new films to Russian cinemas, as a sign of protest against the unjustified invasion of Ukraine.
State Duma Deputy Dmitry Ionin proposed to unblock RuTracker
Since many Western studios have refused to release new films in Russia, the parliamentarian believes that thanks to the torrent tracker, users will be able to watch Hollywood films. pic.twitter.com/muO1VitjTO
— Gazeta.Ru (@GazetaRu) March 3, 2022
Ionin seems to have nominated RuTrackera particularly famous torrent portal that currently should not be accessible in Russia as it is blocked by all providers in the country.
Does this mean that Putin is ready to unblock him in order to counter the sanctions?
It could be an eventuality but we must nevertheless consider, as TorrentFreak points out, the lack of reliability of the Russian media at this precise historical moment.