In Ukraine, and create control markings of copies of various audiovisual computer data, which are expanded on material bases. The law was signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Office of the President (OP) on Tuesday, January 4.

A document signed by the president repeals a law regulating the use of such markings. It was approved by the Verkhovna Rada in 2000 – since then, the labeling of licensed audio cassettes, CDs, DVDs with music, movies or computer programs has been mandatory.

According to the OP, the use of control marks as anti-piracy “has exhausted itself and is seen as an obstacle to the activities of bona fide companies and distributors of these products.”

In practice, as legislators explain, this will mean importers, exporters and reproducers of copies of audiovisual works and other things that do not undertake to support control marks. This is due to the ineffectiveness of the mechanism of such labeling as protection against copyright and related rights and the fact that the labeling is due to the extra costs of legal distributors of such products.

Instead, the law stipulates that the right to protection of copyright and related rights from piracy must be exercised by the subject of such rights or the distributor of products at its own discretion from the possibility of choosing any technical means for this. “Now rights holders can choose the latest, more modern, individual ways to protect copies, which are expanding on physical media,” – said in a statement.

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Decriminalization of making and distributing pirated copies

Due to this position of the legislation, the signed norms also decriminalize piracy: illegal manufacture, counterfeiting, use or manufacture of such products. The law signed by the Green also abolishes administrative liability for the distribution of goods whose packaging is not marked with control marks.

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