Russian copyright pirates net $94 million

Statistics of the Economic Security Department at Russia's Interior Ministry suggest that over the last ten months Russian pirates deprived rightholders of some $94 million in lost income. In 6,432 criminal cases filed over the last year in connection with infringements of copyright and neighboring rights, only 3,082 individuals were prosecuted. As a result, the authorities recovered a little over $1.5 million in losses caused by pirates. However, market participants disagree as to the actual figure of losses. While some believe that this figure is estimated using the knockdown prices of pirated CDs and DVDs, others insist that rightholders overrate the value of their products and by extension their losses.