In the Russian application stores RuStore and NashStore, applications with pirated content - films and
According to Google Trends, since the beginning of the eventsin Ukraine, downloads of applications with pirated content in Russia increased by 300-400%. Developers of such applications confirm this trend and are ready to place their products in RuStore and NashStore. But the stores say they will only add apps that don't infringe copyright.
At the same time, the opinions of experts regarding the futuresuch projects were divided. Aleksey Byrdin, CEO of the Internet Video Association, argues that such applications will violate the law in any case, so they can be excluded from stores by a court decision. And parallel import won't help.
Prospects for pirated applications in domestic marketsno matter whether the rights of Russian or foreign copyright holders are violated. And no “parallel import of films” will work here, since you can import a physical object, but you cannot import rights.
Alexey ByrdinGeneral Director of the Internet Video Association
Mergen Doraev, a partner at the EMPP Law Office, on the contrary, is sure that such an option is possible if the marketplaces are not threatened by lawsuits or refusal to work by foreign copyright holders.
If parallel imports are allowed for films, hosting apps with pirated content may be considered a legal activity in Russia.
Mergen DoraevPartner of EMPP Law Office