Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree stating that certain foreign copyright holders may be paid in rubles, expanding on previous counter-measures against companies based in “unfriendly countries” that are currently imposing sanctions on Moscow.
Published on a government website on Friday, the executive order extends the existing special ruble-based payment mechanism to include the fulfillment of financial obligations to some intellectual property owners, including those that are “associated with unfriendly countries,” have “supported anti-Russian sanctions,” or ceased business activity in Russia under the pretext of penalties and pressure from their own govenrments.
All royalties, fees and other payments will be transferred to a special Type-O bank account, opened in a Russian bank for each affected IP owner, with or without their consent. Funds cannot be withdrawn from such an account but can only be directed to a limited range of purposes, such as paying taxes, without a special authorization from Russian officials.