It what is regarded as being a seminal verdict to a lawsuit that began in 2013, Russian web host Internet Hosting has been charged and found guilty of copyright violation. The Moscow-based company was deemed to have hosted a pirate website which made copies of "American Groom" available to the general public. American Groom is a popular Russian reality program that sees Russian women compete to marry four American bachelors that were born in Russia.
The case comes in the wake of a ruling by the Moscow City Court which suggested that Russian web hosts are responsible for the sites they host, meaning they are culpable should sites share copyrighted materials. Internet Hosting appealed against the ruling in April 2014, but the ruling was upheld. Internet Hosting’s management face two years in prison or “correctional labour” as punishment.
The case was brought as a result in changes to Russia’s copyright laws. The changes came into place on July 2, 2013 and included references to “Information Intermediary" and rules outlining the web host liability in cases where copyrighted materials are distributed without authorization. The case against Internet Hosting will set a legal precedent as far as Russian web hosts are concerned.
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