More and more companies are cracking down on piracy, both here (“Film Fridays- MPAA Plays Legal “Avenger” and Attacks MovieTube in Piracy Suit“) and abroad (“Film Fridays- UK Piracy Violation ‘Phishing’ Seems Fishy“) and this week, Warner Bros. became the first American film studio to start attacking piracy in Russia under the country’s (fairly new) laws. With the July 30 release of its movie “Entourage”, Warner Bros. applied to a Moscow court to attempt to stop the illegal distribution of the film online, after initially contacting the individual sites and making informal requests. 
The anti-piracy law, which came into effect in 2013, requires sites that share copyrighted content without permission to take down the content if requested by the rights-owner. If the site does not comply, it can be shut down temporarily or indefinitely. The Moscow court requested that 20 different websites restrict access to the film, a “successful” application of the law, says Russian media outlet, Roskomnadzor. “Major foreign rights-holders have begun to use Russian anti-piracy legislation to protect their rights, thereby proving the demand for this law and its effectiveness, ” the watchdog added in a statement. As to whether “Entourage” the movie was worth all the legal trouble to begin with, that’s an entirely different story altogether.
Check out the full article here: Warner Bros. becomes first foreign company to use Russian anti-piracy law
—————————————————————————————————————————–
Disclaimer: Please note that the information contained within this blog post and site is offered simply as a consideration to visitors who are in the entertainment industry and are seeking to learn more about various areas of entertainment, be it in film, movies, television, music, digital, new media, film financing, merchandising and/or branding. As such, the information so provided should never be construed as legal advice. If you need further assistance or legal advice for your specific matter, please do not hesitate in contacting an entertainment attorney (film, music, digital, licensing, financing) here in Los Angeles, California at The Hollywood Lawyer by(1) emailing us at info@hollywoodlawyer.com; (2) calling us at (323) 300-4184; or (3) filling out our online form.
