On January 3, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed a new law (opens in a new tab) (via Deutsche Welle (opens in a new tab)) combating piracy in the country. With the noble aim, among other things, of creating “the cultured and spiritual-moral prospective of society”, the law authorizes the use “without the consent of the rights holder” of software, films and music “of foreign states that commit hostile actions” against Belarus, provided that they are considered “essential for the internal market”.
What constitutes essentiality in this context is not disputed in the text of the law itself. But when it comes to software, it’s a safe bet that core technologies like Windows, and maybe even Microsoft Office and Adobe’s suite, would make all the difference. But when it comes to movies, music and games (which would possibly fall under the heading of “software”), I find it hard to believe that anything can be considered a very important device in the Belarusian domestic market.
The law does not allow a full scrum in the virtual media of the myriad countries that have sanctioned Belarus in recent years (opens in a new tab), and especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine (opens in a new tab). tab). At least in theory, other people or organizations that use pirated content will have to pay for it, however, the cash will pass into Belarusian bank accounts through the Belarusian patent authority. Recipients will have 3 years to submit a remuneration request to the Belarusian government. If rights holders run out of time, the state gets the cash.
But even in the fantastic situation where everyone who uses hacked tricks to claim it from the government and the government responds temporarily and truthfully to requests from rights holders, the actual amount they will get is at the discretion of the Council of Belarus. The law also stipulates that the patent authority may not “deduct more than 20%” of any remuneration it administers before passing it on to the relevant right holders. It really does not seem valuable to make a formal request to Belarus in relation to these pirated goods, which is probably precisely the point.
As if all this were not enough, the law has wonders hidden in its pages. It is now legal for Belarus to import anything it needs from its list of “must-have” goods, whether or not it has permission from the relevant authorities. Rights holders. You don’t even have to be from a “hostile” country to fall victim to it. Everything is fair as long as it is on the list of must-haves.
The law, or at least its main articles, will remain in force until December 31, 2024. I think that if the geopolitical scenario in Belarus has not advanced until then, it will probably be prolonged.
One of Josh’s earliest memories is betting Quake 2 on the family circle PC when he was too young to do so, and he’s been hopelessly foolish ever since. His writings have appeared in Vice, Fanbyte and the Financial Times. He plays just about anything and has written too much about everything from visual novels to Assassin’s Creed. His most intimate loves are CRPGs, immersive simulations and any game whose ambition exceeds his budget. Think you’re too bad with Deus Ex: Invisible War.
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