Media Group Asks Russia's Supreme Court to Set Photo Compensation…
Media executives requested the Supreme Court of Russia establish uniform rules for photo compensation disputes, citing a surge in lawsuits and excessive payouts due to systemic legal gaps and abuse of rights.
Consensus
- The Association of Media Managers (ARM) submitted a request to the Supreme Court of Russia for unified rules on photo compensation disputes.
- The number of lawsuits over digital photo usage has increased 8,000 times over the past decade.
- The total amount recovered by plaintiffs through serial lawsuits is approximately 1.5 billion rubles.
- The ARM argues that courts should consider the nature and duration of image use, behavior of the parties, and good faith of media outlets.
- The ARM calls for stricter application of Article 10 of the Russian Civil Code, which prohibits abuse of rights.
- Media outlets often rely on photo banks and agencies for visual content.
- Regional and small media outlets are avoiding legal visual content due to litigation risks.
Points of divergence
- The ARM emphasized that the high number of cases may indicate not legal maturity but rather abuse, and stressed that the goal is not to weaken copyright protection but to ensure proportionality in compensation. — riamo
- The ARM highlighted that courts inconsistently assess the good faith of media, often holding the final user responsible even when relying on suppliers. — gazeta_spb
Coverage (3 sources)
- ARM asked the Supreme Court to protect media from disproportionate photo compensation — РИАМО
- No to photo extremism: media turned to the Supreme Court for protection — РИАМО
- Media community appealed to Supreme Court over serial lawsuits for photos - SPb Gazeta - St. Petersburg news — Gazeta.SPb