Senators of the Federation Council for Economic Policy of Russia have proposed a moratorium on administrative penalties for cinemas for showing foreign films without a distribution certificate.
The press service of the committee clarified that the relevant bill has already been sent to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, his deputy Dmitry Grigorenko, as well as to the presidential apparatus Maxim Oreshkin.
“In order to ensure the distribution of films from unfriendly countries,” this year it is proposed to consider a proposal for a moratorium on prosecution under the article of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses “Renting a film and (or) showing a film without a rental certificate for the film,” the explanatory note says. note to
document held by RT.
In accordance with the current legislation, legal entities for renting or showing films without a distribution certificate face a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 rubles.
If the legal entity commits a repeated violation, the fine will increase from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles or the organization's activities will be suspended for up to 90 days.
“It is proposed to consider a proposal for a moratorium on bringing to administrative responsibility under Articles 14.58 “Renting a film and (or) showing a film without a film distribution certificate” and 19.7 “Failure to provide information (information)” of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in 2023 in order to ensuring the rental of films from unfriendly countries, ”the explanatory note says.
According to Senator Aleksey Sinitsyn, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, the bill provides for a comprehensive solution to the difficulties that have arisen in the film industry.
Answering the question whether the proposed bill intersects with the current article 146 of the Criminal Code on “Violation of copyright and related rights”, he said that the removal of not only administrative, but also criminal liability from legal entities and entrepreneurs is at the forefront.
“The bill offers a more comprehensive solution so that cinemas have the opportunity to show foreign films according to a mechanism similar to the action of parallel imports,” Sinitsyn said in an interview with RT.
“This is not the best, although a possible way to remove responsibility, including administrative and criminal.”
The senator noted that such an approach would help cinemas that are on the verge of closing.
The situation is especially critical for regional cinema networks.
According to Sinitsyn, for the opportunity to show pictures from unfriendly countries without being penalized, the owners are ready to solve all the difficulties with importing copies, as well as pay taxes and royalties to copyright holders through Russian copyright societies or other mechanism.
“We get a lot of calls from regional cinema networks that they are literally surviving now and do not know how they will survive in the future.
Having survived the pandemic with great difficulty, many are faced with the fact that they do not have enough repertoire to receive sufficient cash flow to maintain current activities, ”said Sinitsyn.
The parliamentarian is sure that measures must be taken without waiting for the cinemas to close, because then it will be too late to change anything.
Citing the success of the Russian family film Cheburashka as an example, Sinitsyn said that it was a "great film" but that alone was not enough.
In addition, he noted that there is no fight for the attention of the viewer between foreign and domestic films.
Russians go to the cinema for interesting projects, regardless of the country of production.
However, the senator stressed that if cinema halls are closed due to a shortage of foreign films, this will also affect the box office of domestic films.
At the same time, the proposed draft law provides for the withdrawal and suspension of cases on administrative violations that are in court proceedings, which, before the moment of its adoption, did not enter into force or were not executed.
At the same time, as part of comprehensive measures, the committee proposed to consider the option of using film products without the consent of the copyright holders, following the example of Belarus, where the relevant law is in force.
A proposal has been sent to the government to issue a distribution certificate in Russia when importing foreign films through the territory of Belarus.
“It is proposed to consider the option of issuing a rental certificate without providing an agreement on the alienation of the exclusive right, a license agreement for reproduction, distribution, public performance, bringing to the public attention of an audiovisual work when importing foreign cinema through the Republic of Belarus,” the document sent to Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Grigorenko.
Sinitsyn noted that Russian viewers are accustomed to the appearance of a large number of films in cinemas, but since the beginning of the pandemic, the film industry has not been able to ensure the rhythm of new films entering cinemas.
“And for this transitional period, while this is not possible, we want the opportunity to load cinemas with other films.
No matter how we feel about Avatar, this is an event in the global film industry.
And why all the inhabitants of the planet, not only from unfriendly, but also friendly countries, can see this film, and Russian viewers should not watch it, because in order to please the political circles of the West, the film studio decided not to show the picture here, ”Sinitsyn summed up.
The senator noted that the majority of cinema chains are kept from closing only by the huge money invested in the business and the hope of the cinema owners that the situation will change.
Among other things, the parliamentarian admitted that the Ministry of Culture may well regulate which films should be issued a rental certificate and refuse it to low-grade American projects.
However, to deprive Russians of the opportunity to see grandiose world premieres in cinemas is unfair, Sinitsyn believes.