ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES BILL TO TIGHTEN PUNISHMENT FOR VIOLATION OF COPYRIGHT

ARKA
April 26, 2010
Yerevan

YEREVAN, April 26, /ARKA/. Armenian parliament has passed in the first
reading today a bill designed to tighten punishment for violation of
copyright. The proposed bill calls for mandatory marking of carriers
of audio and video information by control marks of holograms.

The bill was submitted by Karen Vardanian from the opposition Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, who said it is aimed at increasing the level
of protection of authors. He said the mandatory requirement for marking
the carriers will apply both to domestic and foreign products, except
for carriers of information brought in as humanitarian assistance.

Karen Vardanian said a first breach of the law will entail a penalty
in the amount of 1 million Drams or $2,500. The repeated breach will
entail to a criminal prosecution-a prison term up to 12 months. He
downplayed fears that this introduction may result in higher prices
of such products.

The latest Business Software Alliance’s (BSA) annual survey shows that
Armenia tops the rankings of nations with most pirated software. The
BSA estimates that 93% of software used in the country is pirated. The
US has the lowest rate at 20%.