Legal Regulation of the Creation and Distribution of Audiovisual Content in Russia

Significant changes were made in 2022 to the rules on the market for the creation and distribution of audio-visual content in Russia. The departure of numerous foreign right holders (including majors) from the Russian market raised the question of a fundamental change in the functional model of the audio-visual content market. In the context of retaliatory sanctions, in addition to the mechanisms of parallel imports and import substitution, special rules need to be adopted for the use of the intellectual property of foreign right holders from unfriendly countries. The phrase ‘pirated content’ should be perceived in a slightly different context in the current conditions. The question of how society and the state should view ‘piracy’ and ‘pirated content’ in the current conditions, when the actions of unfriendly countries and the rights holders they control could also be qualified as a kind of ‘piracy’, a violation of the principles of legality and good faith, and the seizure of assets, needs to be understood from a legal point of view and in the context of the ability and the need to draft amendments to legislation or make adjustments to existing compliance practices. Measures need to be developed to support the industry due to the current lack of audio-visual content on the market. Could there be an easing of responsibility for Russian companies that produce and distribute audio-visual content for failure to comply with certain requirements given the rigid boundaries and unfriendly actions on the part of Western companies? What is the regulator’s view on the future of this sector? Does the market need mandatory licensing or other mechanisms to ensure access to audio-visual content?