Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #562

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
In
Belarus, digital piracy against “unfriendly coun- tries” has been legalized. Under the new law, it is allowed to use
dig-
ital materials with- out the consent of foreign copyright holders, the Russian editorial office of Deutsche Welle announced
on Saturday.
The new law allows for pirate use of films, music and com- puter programs
from
“unfriendly coun- tries”. The docu- ment also legal- izes import into the
territory Belarus g oods covered by
copyright without the consent of for- eign owners of these rights, and in this case not only from “hostile countries”, according to Deutsche Welle.
According to the portal, the Belarusian legis- lator explains this decision with the need to “develop the intellectual, spiritual and moral potential of society” and “reduce the criti- cal deficit on the domestic market of food and other goods.”
According to the new law, signed by Belarusian dic- tator Alyaksandr Lukashenko on January 3, import- ing goods without
the sanction of the copyright owner is not con- sidered a crime and it is enough for the goods to be included in the list of “essential” for the domestic market, according to Deutsche Welle.
On Friday, the lower house of the Belarusian parliament passed and referred to the upper house a law on the confis- cation of property of foreigners for “unfriendly actions”. It allows the Belarusian authorities to seize money, securities and property rights of foreign citizens and companies.
Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Belarus Legalizes Pirated Movies, Music And Software From “Unfriendly Countries”