All news

Russian Pres proposes new approaches to defending copyright in Internet

Besides, Medvedev calls for the observance of human rights and implementation of a social mission of the state

CANNES, November 3 (Itar-Tass) – Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev has issued an address to the heads of state and/or government of the Group of Twenty on a new concept of utilization and protection of the products of creative intellectual activity – or simply copyright -- in the Internet.

The Kremlin press service has published the address at the President’s official website.

“With the advent of digital technologies and global information networks, a true breakthrough in the field of accumulation and exchange of information has occurred,” the address says.

“The previously existing principles of intellectual property protection that were drawn up in an entirely different technological environment have stopped working in the current conditions and this requires the working out of new international conceptual patterns for regulating the creative activity in the Internet,” Medvedev says.

He recommends the resolution of a number of tasks in this connection. First, he believes it is necessary to define the limits of a legitimate utilization of the fruits of intellectual activity for the Internet and to exercise control over the compliance with copyright and interrelated rights in the Internet with relevance to information mediators and the individuals uploading the content rather than the rank-and-file users of the worldwide web.

It is important to expand the opportunities for the owners of copyright in what concerns the management of rights to the products of intellectual activity in the Internet. Besides, Medvedev calls for the observance of human rights and implementation of a social mission of the state.

“Government should establish a certain level of legal protection of copyrights and interrelated rights in the Internet, and to empower the holders of rights to choose the models for protection of their works suiting the interests to the maximum,” the addresses says.

“Introduction of a presumption that would deem the use of object matters of copyright in the Internet free unless the owners state otherwise might become an important element of the new approach towards the protection of copyright,” Medvedev says.

“Along with this, it is important to consider the lowest standard level of protection that will not require petitioning on the part of rights owners,” he goes on saying.

Thirdly, “information intermediaries in the Internet /telecommunications operators, owners of web side and domain names/ should be held accountable for encroachments on the copyright and interrelated rights in accordance with general practices except for especially mentioned cases /for instance, if they did not know or could not know about the illegitimacy of the content/.”

“These principles envision the mapping out of legal, economic, and technological mechanisms that would meet the interests of all the parties to relationships in the Internet and provide the owners of rights with the instruments of effectuation and/or independent protection of their rights,” Medvedev says.

He indicates that the practical implementation of his initiatives will require amendments to the Berne Convention to the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in what concerns the international legal consensus.

Medvedev does not rule out that the adoption of a separate international treaty may be needed in this case.