Medvedev proposed legalising the distribution of pirated copies of Western films

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, has proposed adopting rules on the use of Western intellectual property without a licence as counter-sanctions and thanked those who developed the relevant programmes, calling it pirate use "in the mode of personal sanctions".

"All that remains is to adopt rules on the use of their intellectual property. Without any licences and payment of royalties. This will include our retaliatory sanctions on their property rights," Medvedev wrote in his telegrame channel.

In his view, this should apply to everything from movies to industrial software. "Thanks, by the way, also to those who have developed various programs for license-free use of their expensive intellectual products. In short, for pirate use in the mode of personal sanctions," Medvedev added.