Russian lawmakers consider creating registry for ‘unfriendly’ copyright holders

Anatoly Semyonov, the head of Russia’s Parallel Import Association, has proposed creating a registry of “unfriendly” copyright holders, according to the newspaper Kommersant. Semyonov reportedly raised the idea at a roundtable discussion held by the Russian Federation Council.

According to a copy of Semyonov’s proposal obtained by Kommersant, the new registry would theoretically include copyright holders that support sanctions against Russia and that refuse to sell their products on Russian territory.

Under the initiative, all types of intellectual property would be included in a single registry, while “countersanction measures” would be selected individually by regulators and courts for each copyright holder.

A number of market participants and field-specific organizations expressed opposition to the idea, according to Kommersant. “The escalation of sanctions and countersanctions won’t bring anything good for the market or for consumers,” said Alexey Byrdin, general director of the Internet-Video Association.