Copyright levies in Russia

Finally, a Russian Collecting Society is officially authorized! However, it is none of those which so far were supposed to be selected. Negotiations about copyright levies in Russia are apparently over. On 14 October 2010, the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 829 finally approved the negotiated scope and tariffs. A few days later, October 26, 2010, the Russian Union of Rightholders was authorized as the competent collecting society. According to a statement of the Collecting Society, payment will start without any delay and there is no pending trial. Decree No. 829 states an extensive scope of products and except reprographic devices almost all product categories are part of the scope. Some administrative questions still remain unanswered. The further development, however, needs to be monitored closely. In Russia, the situation may change fast.