After 18 years of negotiations, Russia has recently won the approval from a key committee to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). The final decision on Russia’s admission is expected next month.
As the intellectual property rights violations have long been one of the major obstacles to Russia’s WTO entry, the accession agreement requires Russia to:
- Seek criminal charges against illegal optical disc production at government-controlled sites
- Impose more rigorous sanctions against piracy and counterfeiting
- Eliminate non-contractual administration of rights by the beginning of 2013
- Introduce stricter control of copyright collectives to ensure right holders receive proper remuneration
- Withdraw its reservations to the provisions of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works before joining the WTO
Protection of trade-related intellectual property
The Russian Federation would fully apply the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of intellectual property Rights including provisions for enforcement, without recourse to any transitional period.
The Russian government would continue to take actions against the operation of websites (with servers located in the Russian Federation) that promote illegal distribution of content protected by copyright or related rights.
The Russian Federation would investigate and prosecute companies that illegally distribute objects of copyright or related rights on the Internet.
By the time of its accession, the Russian Federation would apply all rules of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Transparency
The provisions of the WTO Agreement would be applied uniformly throughout the Russian Federation territory, including in regions engaging in frontier traffic, special economic zones and other areas where special regimes for tariffs, taxes and regulations could be established.
All legislation affecting trade in goods, services and intellectual property rights would be published promptly, consistent with WTO requirements. The Russian Federation would regularly update its official publications including websites and make these laws readily available to WTO members, individuals and enterprises.
To improve access to official publications, the Russian Federation would establish an enquiry point providing assistance to members and all other stakeholders.
In particular, the Russian Federation would publish all legislation, affecting trade in goods, services, or intellectual property rights, prior to their adoption and would provide a reasonable period of time, no less than 30 days, for members to comment, except for emergency cases, national security, monetary policy, measures whose publication would impede law enforcement, be contrary to the public interest, or prejudice the commercial interest of particular public or private enterprises. No legislation affecting trade in goods, services or intellectual property rights would become effective prior to publication.
The Russian Federation would provide annual reports to WTO members on developments in its on-going privatization programme for as long as it would be in existence.
Lists of goods and services subject to state price controls would be published in the Rossiiyskaya Gazeta from the date of accession. Russia would apply price controls on certain products and services, including natural gas, raw diamonds, vodka, water supply services, gas transportation services, baby food, medical goods, public transport services and railway transportation services. Price control measures would not be used for purposes of protecting domestic products, or services provided.