Russia to sanction illegal showings of Hollywood films

The Russian parliament (Duma) has presented a proposal for a “compulsory license for foreign films”. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Hollywood studios have stopped distributing films in Russia. This means that only illegally obtained copies of films such as “The Batman” and “Avatar: The Shape of Water” have been shown in some theaters. Major movie chains have avoided trampling on international copyright law, but the proposed law would allow them to screen Hollywood blockbusters without violating Russian copyright law.

The proposal was unveiled on January 9 by Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, on his Telegram channel. According to the proposal, the cinema would still have to set aside box office money for the rights holder. However, this would only be paid if and when these distributors resume business relations with Russia. Rights holders would also have no say in the distribution of revenues or the conditions under which films are shown.

I think this year is the time to put an end to the debate on the compulsory licensing mechanism for Western films. According to my information, a bill is being discussed that will allow cinemas to legally show the latest foreign films – and not engage in the semi-legal practice of screening. Which, according to indirect signs, is popular with viewers. Golkin noted that many Russian cinemas screened Hollywood films anyway using near-loopholes:

Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Telegram channel.

A similar proposal was presented in August 2022, when the billNo. 184016-8was submitted for consideration by the State Duma, but was withdrawn due to lack of comments from the Supreme Court and the government. It was feared at the time that such a proposal would harm Russian streaming platforms. The current proposal narrows the scope to include only theatrical showings of “compulsory license” films. Separately, “[t]Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Dmytro Gusev offered to mark “treacherous actors” in films with yellow stars with a special die – as “foreign agents”. »

The move comes at a time when Russia enjoyed its biggest domestic success with the family film Cheburashka released over the holidays for gross more than 3.2 billion rubles ($46.3 million) as of January 10. It took only nine days to cross three billion rubles, which the former record holder “Son of a Rich” did not realize until the 46th day of its large-scale release. However, the film is based on a popular television character and only faced competition from illegal screenings of “Avatar: The Way of the Water” in smaller theaters. Gorelkin also noted that “a high-grossing movie and even a successful holiday season aren’t enough to save theaters that are in dire straits.” It should also be noted that the original “Avatar” cost 3.5 billion rubles when it was released in Russia in 2009.

A neighbor and ally of Russia in the war against Ukraine, Belarus has already passed a law that allows violation of international copyright agreements. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on January 3 signed a law titled “On Limitation of Exclusive Rights to Objects of Intellectual Property”.

The provisions of the new Belarusian law will come into force if foreign copyright owners do not explicitly allow or prohibit the use of their property on the territory of Belarus. In this case, the content will still be distributed in the country, only no one will ask its owners about it.

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In addition to feature films intended for cinemas, the law applies to software, music and television programs. It states that PI money must be set aside in a “special account” for three years from the date of registration. The law will be in force until December 31, 2024. Belarus is, like the Russian Federation, subject to a boycott by Hollywood studios.

Major cinema chains in Russia have refrained from showing Hollywood films without agreements in place – having abandoned their plans to find loopholes. Instead, they focused on a mix of Russian films, Soviet-era re-releases, films from India, Korea and Latin America, as well as “parallel import” of independent films. Europeans and Americans. There are indications that some major theaters will start showing “Avatar: The Way of the Water” from January 12, when the holiday season reserved for domestic films ends. Perfect DCPs with Russian subtitles are believed to have been obtained from cinemas in neighboring Kazakhstan. Theaters showing the film often do so under a different name and do not advertise or sell tickets online, likely for fear of being blacklisted in Hollywood.