New draft law on copyright will enable closing down web sites without court order

The State Service on Intellectual Property of Ukraine published a draft law, which would make it possible to close websites without any court orders. The draft law «On Amendment to Some Legislative Enactments concerning Copyright and Similar Rights on the Internet» is available on the State Service’s website.

According to the new draft, to block a website it would be enough just to address the provider with a claim on copyright infringement. At that, a claimant bears no obligation to provide evidence of such infringement.

The civic movement Left opposition analyzed the draft. According to the experts, in case the draft is adopted, it would violate the constitutional principles of citizens’ equality, complicate access to information, and implement a system for penal sanctions. The hosting providers would have to pay a penalty of up to UAH 17 thousand for failure to timely (within two days) block the website upon the claimant’s complaint.

Also, Left Opposition asks citizens to sign a petition against this draft.

The public discussion of the draft of the Law «On Amendment to Some Legislative Enactments concerning Copyright and Similar Rights on the Internet» will last until January 12, 2014.