Category: Uncategorised

Digitisation of industry would create an additional €110 billion of revenue for industry per year in Europe over the next five years. Companies will be able to develop new products, processes and business models that can provide improved safety and greater comfort for users. They will be able to sell personalised products at mass production cost, and they can optimise the use of energy and other resources. Digitisation can help to solve issues related to an ageing society (people can stay longer at home), use less energy (for instance, city lightning that only switches on when it is needed), monitor the environment, etc.

Russian Union of Right holders (RSP) is authorised by Russian State to collect private copying levy on an exclusive basis – so called accreditation. RSP takes 1% from price of taxable equipment and media. Russian business ombudsman Boris Titov proposed to give such exclusive authority to collect private copying levy to relevant state authority – Federal Custom Service (FCS) or Federal Tax Service (FTS).

Deputy of Russian state duma from political party “Fair Russia” has proposed new system of taxation for foreign films. The rates of “progressive profits tax” would depend on quantity of cinemas where foreign films are showed. In case if film is showed in 80-100% of cinemas in country the rate would be 20%, in a case of 60-80% the rate would be 15%, in a case of 40-60% the rate would be 10%, in a case of 20-40% the rate would be 5, in a case of less than 20% the rate would be 0%.

Russian IP ombudsman Anatoly Semenov has accused Russian accredited CMOs – Russian Authors Society (RAO), All-Russian Organisation of Intellectual Property (VOIS) and Russian Union of Right holders (RSP) – and Russian Ministry of Culture (MinCult) of conflict of interests. Ministerial officials are affiliated with CMOs.

Constitutional committee of Russian state duma believes additional responsibility and fines for owners of news aggregators are too excessive. Moreover fines are not proportionate to provisions of Russian administrative code. Committee members also mentioned there is no definition of “news…

Russian Media-Communication Union (MCU) developed draft law aiming to exclude standard way for right holders to get royalty for use of their music in TV and movies (synchronisation licencing). Copy of this draft law has obtained Vedomosti. Industry is discussing this legislative initiative. Actually it was made in response to Russian state accreditation. If you can’t beat it – eliminate it. This proposition is of “preliminary character”.

This draft law, as it is promised, will lose its provisions requiring news aggregators to verify information prior to publish it. Interfax was told by Leonid Levin, chairman of Russian state duma committee on informational policy, informational technologies and connection. All main companies-news aggregators have provided their assessments of, opinions on and propositions for this legislative initiative.

The chief of Russian Roskomnadzor Alexandr Zharov believes online cinemas in Russia should be regulated in the same way as is regulated traditional TV in Russia. “I believe streaming video-services are another step in development of (traditional) TV broadcast and (nontraditional) TV broadcast. Therefore it is necessary to work over the issues how to regulate near traditional TV.” Media-communication Union developed a draft law to regulate work of online cinemas in Russia.

He advised to establish some analogue of USSR State Cinematography (StateCinema), a Single Cinematography Center. This structure would be the only authority to invest movies. Now we have Russian ministry of culture (MinCult) and Cinematography Fund – “it is know-how without any analogue in the world”.

Russian internet company Yandex has launched its service Yandex.Radio about one year ago. In this service Yandex made special section “Like on Radio” in order to make the choice of music more convenient and simpler for its users. This section has been made with intention to help user to find suitable for him style or type of music similar with musical format of popular radio stations, like “Europa plus”, “Silver Rain” and others. Some radio station owners did not like it.