New Belarusian law legalizes piracy by at least the end of 2024. The legislation allows Belarusians to download movies, TV series, music and software with intellectual property rights connected with “competing countries”.
These countries hostile to Belarus include: Those who lifted sanctions against the country after supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, such as the US, UK, and members of the European Union. The government has legalized piracy as the supply of movies, TV shows, music and software is also sanctioned.
The law was signed by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko on January 3, 2023. still in the text Assets protected by intellectual property law are allowed to be downloaded without permission from rights holders.
Therefore, the owner does not need to give permission for the content to be used in Belarus. Exclusive rights are limited when it comes to legally posted items. The law determines audiovisual works and software. It also affects live TV channels and cinema..
Interestingly, the use of pirated content still requires royalties to the National Patent Authority. The money is held for three years from the date of payment for copyright holders to legally claim it. If this does not happen, Belarus retains the value.
Source: Tec Mundo
