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The Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation in its decision of March 24, 1998 rules that listings of TV programmes shall be treated as "informational reports on events and facts" and therefore shall not be viewed as objects protected by copyright law. The Arbitration Court, that deals with economic disputes between legal entities, made this ruling basing itself on Article 8 of the 1993 Statute On Copyright and Neighbouring Rights of the Russian Federation. The case itself started in 1997 when a municipal TV station in Yurga, Kemerovo Region, sued the local newspaper...

Russian Parliament adopted a new licensing Act ("On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities"). From the moment of its entering into force, all regulation concerning licensing of any type of activity to be adopted by the Parliament or by the Government shall correspond to this act. The Act enumerates activities on Russian territory, for which the licence is needed. These activities include: television and radio broadcasting; broadcasting of additional information (teletext); provision of services in the field of informational encoding; manufacture and distribution (except retail trade)...

On 11 June 1998 the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation adopted in the first reading a package of statutes which extend until January of 2002 the state support of the mass media in Russia. The statutes were supported by all factions in the Duma and were adopted by an overwhelming majority of the deputies (267 for with 1 against and 0 abstained). The statutes that are to go through the second and third readings in October will extend for another three years the Statute On State Support to the Mass Media and Book Publishing in the Russian Federation which is due to expire...

The work on the Bill "State protection of moral health and on stronger control over the use of products of sexual character" started in 1995, when the initial text in the Legislative assembly of Omsk region was developed. On 16 January 1998, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted the Bill in the second reading (on the first reading, see IRIS 1997-4: 10). 226 Deputes supported the Bill, 104 Deputes voted against it and 113 abstained. Now the Bill is being prepared for the third reading. If the Bill is adopted in the third reading by the State Duma and approved by the Federation Council...

On 5 May 1998, Russia ratified the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and its Protocols no.1, 4, 7, 9, 10 and 11. The Convention affirms a number of rights and fundamental freedoms in favour of the individual, including the freedom of expression (Article 10), and makes provision for a legal mechanism guaranteeing these rights and freedoms. It should also be noted that Russia has, with immediate effect, recognised the right of individual petition and the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (Articles 25 and 36 of the...