In Russia, it is proposed to repeal criminal punishment for piracy without a sales target.

Ombudsman Anatoly Semenov

The Ombudsman for Intellectual Rights Anatoly Semenov prepared a proposal in the report of the Commissioner for the Rights of Entrepreneurs, Boris Titov, in which it is proposed to repeal the criminal punishment for installing and using pirated software, according to Izvestia. The document will be sent to the President of the Russian Federation at the end of April.

In the opinion of Semenov, article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Infringement of Copyright and Related Rights” is used by unscrupulous lawyers for the purpose of their own enrichment. Violation of this article of the criminal code is punishable by a fine of up to two hundred thousand rubles, or imprisonment for up to two years. When using an official position, the punishment is tightened: the amount of the fine is increased to five hundred thousand rubles, and the term of imprisonment is up to six years.

Similar norms of the Criminal Code were threatened by company executives. Stakeholders wrote to the prosecutor’s office a complaint in which they reported using pirated software, which is not uncommon in the regions. The offices were searched, and the general director of the company was brought to court, although according to the norms of the law, the authorities must search for the person who installed the pirated software, and not punish the manager. Subsequently, after the conviction, the “injured party” appeals to the arbitration court for the recovery of compensation in the amount of 1 to 3 million rubles. In this case, the "victims" are not official representatives of the software manufacturer, for example, Microsoft, although they appear to be such, providing documents of dubious origin.
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“If they find a corpse in the firm’s office, they will look for the killer, and not detain the director. Why everything is different with unlicensed software is not clear, ”Semenov commented on the situation.

In order to prevent legalized racketeering, Semenov proposes to provide article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with an explanation. “You can not be sentenced for an act that has no signs of public danger. For article 146, such a sign is the target of marketing. If there is no sales target, then there is no corpus delicti, and therefore no responsibility. In addition, if a person who placed unlicensed software on a computer is not identified, then there can be no responsibility either, ”said Semenov.

The company “Russian Shield”, which is engaged in protecting the interests of rights holders in the territory of the Russian Federation, was told that they had encountered powers of attorney from large corporations of unknown origin, and also recognized the existence of racketeering.

“There is a large western international corporation. She has an office in Russia. But if you check the registration documents, we will see that it is an independent legal entity. There is no legal connection between him and the main office. What kind of power of attorney they give out is unclear. - It also happens that large law firms represent international companies. In this case, we know cases of extortion. Such offices send letters to entrepreneurs and demand compensation for using unlicensed content, threatening to transfer data to law enforcement agencies, ”Yury Zlobin, president of Russian Shield, told Izvestia.

According to the professional publication “Universum: Economics and Law”, 232 people were convicted in 2013 in Russia in 2013, 237 in 2014, 269 in 2015.