• Roszdravnadzor is planning to implement the system similar to the Unified State Automated Information System for alcohol for medicines
• More then two thousand counterfeit disks and audiocassettes were withdrawn during the police raid “Kontrafact” in Tatarstan
• As a response to US criticism of Russian IPR protection, the Russian legislature has offered to implement codification instead of reviewing the laws currently in force
• Ukraine was excluded from Top-10 problem countries

Warner Music Reaches the Access Area
Kommersant — August 11
One of Russia’s cellular giants, VimpelCom, and the world music leader, Warner Music International (WMI), have entered into a partnership agreement. It will be the first time in Russia that a cellular operator directly sells WMI music to subscribers. At first, the music will be sold as ring-tones and real-tones, while the launch of the full-fledged tracks is slated for October 1. The tracks will be sold via WAP-portal of Bee-Online or via the special phone menu or the SIM-card menu. The users will be getting music in protected formats, preventing it from being copied from one phone to another.

Ukraine was excluded from Top-10 problem countries
Ekonomicheskie izvestia — August 08
International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI) excluded Ukraine from the list of Top-10 countries where pirates copy and distribute foreign music on a huge scale. Experts confirm that the situation with the level of piracy in the country is improving, but the essential progress in this sphere is not expected in near future.

Pirates in law
Finans — August 07
As a response to US criticism of Russian IPR protection, the Russian legislature has offered to implement codification instead of reviewing the laws currently in force.
“The current legislative base provide protection of copyright owners interests. The problem is not in laws, it is in enforcement,” says Jean Paul Suren, the Head of Business Software Alliance’s Russian branch.

President Vladimir Putin introduced a bill of Part Four of the Civil Code to the State Duma in the middle of July. It is supposed to replace the six laws about intellectual property that are currently in force.

To the Bitter End of Fake Alcohol
Vremya Novostey — August 04
Valery Draganov is ready to tightened inspection on the alcohol market. The Government and Parliament’s regulation of the alcohol market which provoked a big alcohol deficit recently has not ended. In autumn the State Duma may begin a war over the newly edited version of the law regulating alcohol production and turnover.

Medicines will have its own EGAIS (Unified State Automated Information System)
Gazeta — August 03
“Roszdravnadzor is planning to implement the system similar to the Unified State Automated Information System for alcohol for medicines on the Russian market,” – said Ramil Khabriev, the agency chief.
He explains that the necessity of implementing the system is caused by problems with fake pharmaceuticals.
Ramil Khabriev admitted that the situation with counterfeit medicines is rather complicated. During the first 6 months of this year Roszdravnadzor examined 68 medicines that were suspected counterfeits - 32 of them proved to be fake.

More then two thousand counterfeit disks and audiocassettes were withdrawn during the police raid “Kontrafact” (Tatarstan)
Regnum — August 03
About 2 thousand DVDs and audiocassettes suspected of being counterfeits were seized during Kontrafact’s police raid in a shop in Kazan’, Kirovskiy district. Each DVD had more than one film and had no marks of legal origin. The Court is to make a decision soon on whether to bring an action before the court or through administrative penalties. Kontrafact’s program has been very successful since its launch in fighting piracy in the region.