How to File a Lawsuit for Copyright Infringement in Russia

How to File a Lawsuit for Copyright Infringement in Russia

Companies encounter situations daily where the results of their intellectual labor are used by competitors without consent. Russian legislation allows such actions to be stopped and compensation to be obtained. This review provides a step-by-step guide on how to file a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

Brief Instructions

1. Document the Violation and Collect Evidence
   Record the date, source, and method of the unlawful use of the work (photo, screenshot, video, etc.).
   
   

2. Identify the Infringer (Defendant)
   
   

3. Send a Pre-trial Claim to the Infringer
   In the official letter, demand to cease the unlawful use of the work and request compensation.
   
   

4. Determine Jurisdiction
   Choose whether the case will be handled by a district court or an arbitration court.
   
   

5. Prepare a Statement of Claim
   Specify who the plaintiff and defendant are, describe the copyright violation, identify the violated legal norms, and list the demands (compensation, cessation of use, moral damages, etc.).
   
   

6. File the Claim in Court
   File the claim in person at the court office, by registered mail, or electronically through the official online portal.
   
   

7. Go Through the Court Proceedings
   Present evidence and arguments, refute objections, and file petitions if necessary.
   
   

8. Enforce the Court's Decision
   If the claim is granted, ensure the violation is ceased.

In 2021, Russian courts reviewed over 2,000 cases related to the unlawful use of creative works, with more than 56.5% of these concerning copyright. The number of such disputes is steadily increasing — over five years, the annual number grew by ~60%. The vast majority of claims filed by right holders are granted, with courts ruling in favor of plaintiffs more than 87% of the time. In major disputes, compensation payments can reach millions — for example, in 2020, an advertising agency won 3.3 million rubles from a car dealer for the unlawful use of its advertising materials.

From a legal standpoint, an author's exclusive rights to a work of science, literature, or art are protected from the moment it is created (fixed in a tangible form) and are valid without any registration. Any use of the work without the consent of the right holder (except for cases of free use specifically provided by law) is unlawful. Reproduction, distribution, or adaptation of another's text or image without the author's permission is considered an infringement of exclusive rights. In rare cases, when the work is found not to have creative character (e.g., it is merely a technical photograph of an object without any creativity), the court may deny protection — a precedent being the case of the Ural Authors' Society against the Lenta.ru website, where the plaintiffs failed to prove the artistic originality of the disputed photograph. In most cases, copyright and the infringement of rights are obvious, and the law provides the right holder with several means of protection.

As a liability measure, the right holder may demand compensation in a fixed monetary amount, without proving the specific amount of damages. The law sets a minimum and maximum limit for such compensation for each violation — from 10,000 to 5,000,000 rubles. Courts, guided by principles of reasonableness and fairness, determine the exact amount within this range, considering the nature of the violation and other circumstances of the case. Alternatively, instead of a fixed amount, one can demand compensation in double the value of copies of the work made or distributed without permission (e.g., double the price of all illegally printed copies of a book) or double the value of the right to use the work (double the hypothetical licensing fee). In addition to compensation for the infringement of exclusive rights, the author may demand compensation for moral damage. The law also provides for the confiscation and destruction of counterfeit copies of the work and the materials used for unlawful reproduction.

The legal mechanisms for protection are quite effective — now let’s consider how to use them in practice, going step by step through the process of filing a claim.

1. Documenting the Violation and Collecting Evidence

It is necessary to collect as much information as possible about how, where, and when the unlawful use of the work took place.

Previously, the only reliable evidence for internet materials was a notary protocol for inspecting a webpage, but now courts increasingly accept screenshots with metadata of time, video recordings of the process of detecting the violation. The main thing is that the court can confirm that the violation indeed occurred and the data (image, article, audio, etc.) was available in the indicated source.

In addition to documenting the unlawful use itself, it is important to have evidence of authorship. Since copyright in Russia arises automatically, the author may not have a formal “certificate.” Judicial practice has developed an approach where any materials confirming the creation of the work by you are accepted as evidence of authorship: drafts, original project files, email correspondence. It is useful to provide information about the creative nature of the work — describe what original creative solutions were implemented.

One method of preliminary protection of copyright is the digital deposit of the work. Although deposit is not formally mandatory, it significantly simplifies protection in disputed cases.

2. Identifying the Infringer

It is necessary to determine who organized or distributed the disputed content. For example, if a book was published without the author’s consent, the defendant will be the publisher that released the print run and/or the person who ordered the publication. If a play is staged without the consent of the copyright holder, the defendant will be the theater or producer who organized the performance. In cases of unauthorized public music performance (e.g., in a restaurant without paying for the author’s remuneration), the owner of the establishment or the individual entrepreneur organizing the event will be liable.

In internet cases, the defendant is typically the domain name administrator (website owner). Information about the domain owner can be found via the WHOIS service. If the personal data of the domain owner is hidden, an official request can be sent to the domain registrar or hosting provider to obtain information about the infringer.

Sometimes it makes sense to claim multiple defendants jointly. For example, if pirated content was initially distributed by one resource and then copied by others, lawsuits can be filed against each infringer separately.

3. Pre-trial Dispute Resolution

If the alleged defendant is a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur (i.e., the case falls under the jurisdiction of the arbitration court), a pre-trial claim is mandatory. According to the Arbitration Procedural Code, the plaintiff must send the violator a written demand and wait a certain period before turning to the court. Failing to follow this procedure may lead to the rejection of the claim. Therefore, upon discovering a violation, it is advisable to prepare a claim — an official letter signed (or signed by a representative) addressed to the violator.

The claim must specify:

• What the violation consists of and which rights have been infringed;
  

• The authorship of the work;
  

• The circumstances of the rights violation;
  

• Legal norms (e.g., Article 1270 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
  

• A demand for compensation for the violation caused.
  

Several developments are possible at this stage. The ideal scenario is full satisfaction of the demands: the violator acknowledges the mistake, removes the unlawfully used content, and agrees to pay the stated compensation (or enters into negotiations about concluding an agreement). In practice, this happens in most cases. Another outcome is the refusal to fulfill the claim or ignoring the letter. The violator may respond with a formal rejection, attempt to dispute authorship, or claim that, in their opinion, no violations occurred (e.g., the use was within the limits of quotation). If there is no response at all, after the deadline, it can be considered that the claim has been left unsatisfied.

For courts of general jurisdiction, sending a claim is not required by law, but it does not hurt. Judges view plaintiffs who have tried to settle the matter out of court. Additionally, the violator’s response (if received) will help better understand their position and prepare to refute it in the future process.

If the issue remains unresolved, it is time to approach the court.

4. Determining the Court and Jurisdiction

District courts (courts of general jurisdiction) handle copyright protection cases where at least one party is a non-entrepreneurial individual. In simple terms, if the defendant is an individual (not an individual entrepreneur), or the plaintiff is an individual author suing an organization, the case will most likely fall under the jurisdiction of a district court. These disputes are handled according to civil procedure rules. The claim is usually filed in the court at the location (or registered address) of the defendant. For example, a photographer from Moscow suing a provincial newspaper that unlawfully published their photo will file the claim in the district court where the newspaper's editorial office is located.

Arbitration courts handle disputes related to business and other economic activities. These include cases where both the plaintiff and defendant are organizations or individual entrepreneurs, and the dispute arises in connection with the commercial use of a work. A typical example is one publisher accusing another of unlawfully republishing a book, or a software development company suing a firm that used its software code without a license. Such cases fall under the jurisdiction of the arbitration court of the subject of the Russian Federation (region, territory, etc.) where the defendant is located. The procedure will follow the Arbitration Procedural Code with its specific features (such as the mandatory pre-trial process mentioned earlier).

It is worth noting that in the Russian judicial system, there is a specialized Intellectual Property Court (IPC) — a cassation court that reviews arbitration court decisions on disputes related to intellectual property. In certain cases, the IPC acts as a first instance court (for example, in lawsuits challenging the validity of patents or trademarks), but direct lawsuits for copyright infringement are first filed in a regular arbitration court. If the case involves business disputes, after the appeal process, it might reach the Intellectual Property Court, which establishes uniform practices for such issues. For district courts, there is no specialized IP structure, and the highest instance there is the Judicial Panel for Civil Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

In addition to jurisdiction (determining the type of court), it is important to correctly determine territorial jurisdiction — which regional court the claim should be filed with. Generally, the rule is that the claim is filed at the location of the defendant. However, there are cases where the violator operates outside their registered address. The Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation allows lawsuits for damages to be filed in the location where the harm occurred. In copyright cases, this sometimes allows plaintiffs to choose jurisdiction: for example, an author can file a claim in their city if the infringement occurred there (for example, the book was illegally distributed in the author’s region). In arbitration cases, there are also special rules for jurisdiction in IP disputes — sometimes it is allowed to file in the court where the violation of exclusive rights occurred. However, such cases require analysis of the specific situation and legal norms.

5. Preparing the Statement of Claim

Structure of the Claim

At the top of the document, the name of the court where the claim is filed, the details of the plaintiff and defendant (names, addresses, contacts) are indicated.

Next comes the title: "Statement of Claim for the Protection of Copyright" (you can specify: "... and Compensation" or "... and Prohibition of the Use of the Work" — depending on the nature of the claims).

The essence of the case is then presented: when and by whom the work was created, the rights to it belonging to the plaintiff (authorship, exclusive license, etc.), the nature of the violation by the defendant (the unlawful use is described in detail: dates, places, forms of use, links to evidence).

It is necessary to support the description with legal norms: indicate the articles of the Civil Code that were violated — usually Articles 1229 (exclusive right of the author to dispose of the work), Articles 1255, 1259 (comprehensive copyright on the work), Article 1270 (specific methods of use that were carried out without permission), and general provisions of Articles 1250–1252 of the Civil Code on the protection of intellectual property rights.

After describing the violation, the plaintiff’s demands are formulated. Generally, in copyright infringement cases, the following demands are made:

• Recognize the fact of the violation and oblige the defendant to stop using the work without the consent of the copyright holder. This may be formulated as a prohibition for the defendant to carry out certain actions. For example: "Prohibit the defendant from further reproducing and distributing the work [title] without the plaintiff’s consent."
  

• Claim compensation for the violation of exclusive rights. Here, the plaintiff can choose one of the options provided by law: demand a specific monetary amount within the range of 10,000 to 5 million rubles, to be determined at the court’s discretion, or demand double the value of the unlawfully made copies/rights to use the work.
  

• Claim moral damages (if personal non-property rights of the author are violated, such as the author's honor and dignity being insulted due to the infringement, etc.). This demand is usually made by individual authors. It is formulated separately: "Claim from the defendant compensation for moral damage in the amount of ... rubles." The amount of moral damage is justified by the intensity of the emotional distress, the nature of the violation (for example, distortion of the work, distribution without the author’s name, etc.).
  

• Claim court expenses. The plaintiff can demand compensation for court fees, legal fees, postal charges, notarial services, and other expenses incurred in connection with the protection of rights. This demand is usually indicated at the end of the claim.
  

If applicable, specific measures — such as the confiscation and destruction of counterfeit copies — should also be explicitly stated in the demands: "Oblige the defendant to destroy all copies of the work made or distributed in violation of the plaintiff's rights." Similarly, in cases of authorship infringement (when another's name is placed on the work), the plaintiff can demand the refutation of false authorship and the indication of the true author.

After formulating the claims, the compensation amount is justified. For example: "The compensation amount is calculated based on the fact that the defendant unlawfully published X copies of the work, and the estimated licensing fee for each would be N rubles; furthermore, the nature of the violation (commercial use of the work without the author's name) indicates its severity. Therefore, the plaintiff considers compensation in the amount of ... rubles fair." As a reference — if the violator received income from using the work, it is logical to demand double the amount (the principle of double compensation). If no income data is available, the justification can be based on the significance of the work, its circulation, and the market value of the author's fee.

Appendices to the Statement of Claim

The statement of claim must be accompanied by copies of all necessary documents:

• Evidence of copyright (documents showing the creation of the work, deposit, certificates, contracts — anything that proves the rights);
  

• Evidence of the violation (screenshots, photos of illegal products, notarial protocols, copies of publications, etc.);
  

• A copy of the previously sent claim and evidence of its delivery (postal receipts, notifications);
  

• The defendant's response to the claim (if received);
  

• Documents confirming payment of the state duty (receipt or payment order);
  

• Power of attorney or other documents confirming the representative’s authority (if the claim is signed by a lawyer or patent attorney);
  

• Copies of the statute or an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (for corporate plaintiffs, if needed to confirm the authority of the director).
  

The claim is filed with the court in several copies: for the court and for each defendant. Therefore, if there is one defendant, two copies are required (one stays with the court, the other will be sent to the defendant by the court).

State Duty

Before filing the claim, the state duty must be paid. The amount of the duty depends on the nature of the claims and the price of the claim. In cases of copyright infringement, the claims often have a non-property character (for example, a demand to prohibit the use of the work) — in such cases, the state duty is fixed (for district courts, typically 300 rubles for individuals, 6,000 rubles for organizations; for arbitration courts — 6,000 rubles).

If the claim demands monetary compensation, the duty is calculated based on the amount of compensation: according to a progressive scale established by the Tax Code (for example, for a claim amount up to 100,000 rubles in district court, the fee is 4%, for higher amounts, the percentage decreases, and a fixed amount is added). The same rules apply in arbitration courts.

The exact amount can be determined using the state duty calculator on the court's website or by consulting a lawyer.

Form and Language

The statement of claim must be in writing (on paper) and signed by the plaintiff or their representative. Currently, electronic submission is also allowed — this will be discussed in the next section. The claim is written in Russian, using a legally competent style, without emotions or insults. All significant points should be broken into paragraphs and the claims numbered. Avoid vague formulations — specificity is crucial. For example, instead of saying "the work was used unlawfully," say "the defendant reproduced and distributed the work by publishing it in open access on the website …, which constitutes use (reproduction) without the copyright holder's consent, violating paragraph 1 of Article 1270 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation."

Once the claim is drafted and all appendices are collected, it is best to verify it against procedural requirements. You can either check it using this checklist:

• All details of the parties and the court are specified;

• The claims are formulated;

• Evidence is provided;

• References to legal norms are included;

• Copies of documents are attached;

• The required state duty has been paid.

6. Filing the Claim in Court

There are several ways to file the claim:

1. In Person or via a Representative
   Bring the documents to the court office. The court staff will stamp the claim with an acceptance mark (registration number, date, signature).
   

2. By Mail
   Send the claim with an inventory of attachments and a return receipt. The inventory must be created to list the documents being sent.
   

3. Electronically
   All federal courts of general jurisdiction accept documents through the "GAS Pravosudie" system. Arbitration courts use the "Moy Arbitre" system after registration. An electronic signature will be required (for arbitration courts, a qualified electronic signature is mandatory, while for general courts, a simplified signature through the State Services website can be used).
   

Regardless of the submission method, once the claim is accepted, the judge will decide whether to accept it for processing within the statutory time frame. If everything is in order, a ruling will be made to initiate a civil (or arbitration) case, and the date for the preliminary hearing will be set. If something is missing or the requirements are violated, the judge will issue an order to leave the claim without movement, specifying what needs to be corrected and providing a deadline for making amendments (usually no more than a month).

In arbitration cases, the plaintiff must send a copy of the claim with attachments to the defendant in advance. In general jurisdiction courts, this is not required — the district court will send a copy of the claim to the defendant.

When the case is initiated, the court will set the date for the first hearing (preliminary or main, depending on the process). From that point, the judicial proceedings on the substance of the dispute begin.

7. Court Proceedings

The court process in copyright infringement cases is similar to other civil or arbitration cases, but it has its specific moments:

1. Burden of Proof

The plaintiff bears the burden of proving that:

• They have copyright on the specific work;

• The defendant performed actions that violated these rights;

• These actions do not fall under exceptions to copyright (i.e., they are not lawful free use);

• The violation caused damage or harm deserving compensation.

In the preliminary hearing (if one is scheduled), the judge may clarify the positions of the parties, suggest reconciliation, and approve the list of facts to be proven.

Upon receiving a copy of the claim, the defendant will likely submit a response — a written objection. In the response, they may dispute authorship, claim they did not commit the actions specified, or argue that they used the work on a lawful basis. Sometimes defendants refer to so-called "free use" exceptions: for example, claiming the disputed part of the work was quoted for informational or academic purposes in accordance with Article 1274 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, or it was parody (Article 1274.1 of the Civil Code), or used for personal purposes (Article 1273 of the Civil Code), and so on. They may argue that they were unaware of the infringement or that "it was freely available on the internet, so it can be used" — but ignorance of the law is no excuse.

In some cases, experts are brought in to establish facts. For example, in cases of plagiarism in music or literature, an art history or philological examination may be needed to determine if the defendant's work is a copy (adaptation) of the plaintiff’s work. The expert compares texts or melodies and provides an opinion on their degree of similarity or borrowing. In photography cases, a technical examination may be conducted to establish the originality of files, the date of creation, etc. Expert evaluations are a lengthy and costly process (initially paid for by the party requesting it; later, the costs may be reimbursed by the losing party). Often, violations are evident and do not require expert confirmation. However, if the defendant insists on an expert evaluation (for example, attempting to delay the case), the plaintiff can object if sufficient evidence is already available.

4. Closing Arguments

After studying the evidence, the court moves to the closing arguments — these are the final statements from both parties. First, the plaintiff (or their representative) speaks: briefly summarizing the evidence of the violation, requesting the court to grant the claim, and emphasizing the key points. Then, the defendant is given the floor, usually to repeat their objections.

After the closing arguments, the judge deliberates and prepares the decision. In arbitration courts, the decision may be announced right after the break, while in district courts, it is often delayed for several days until the reasoning for the decision is prepared.

8. Enforcing the Court’s Decision

Once the court decision is received, the plaintiff must ensure that it is effectively enforced. The court does not enforce the decision on behalf of the parties — this responsibility lies with the participants and the government enforcement bodies (Federal Bailiff Service).

Voluntary Enforcement

After the decision becomes final (usually after the period for appeal has passed — 1 month for district court decisions, 1 month for decisions by first-instance arbitration courts), the defendant is given a deadline to voluntarily comply with the requirements.

Enforcement via Bailiffs

If the defendant does not comply with the decision, the plaintiff must obtain an enforcement order from the court — an official document under which the bailiffs will act. The enforcement order is issued by the court upon the plaintiff’s request. With the enforcement order in hand, the plaintiff must contact the bailiff service (at the location of the debtor or their property) and submit a request to open enforcement proceedings. The bailiffs will initiate the case and begin their work on enforcement: they will send a demand for the debtor to pay the debt, and if the payment is not made, they will seize assets, accounts, or take other enforcement actions.

Cessation of the Violation

For non-material claims, enforcement is also controlled by the bailiffs. For example, if the court has prohibited a performance or ordered the removal of content from a website, and the defendant ignores the decision, the bailiff may impose a fine or hold officials accountable under administrative law. In copyright cases, it is usually sufficient to issue a directive: the website hosting service will be required to take down the infringing content, or it may face blocking by the Roskomnadzor (the Russian telecommunications watchdog).

Appealing the Decision

It is important to note that if the defendant files an appeal or cassation complaint, the enforcement of the decision is suspended (i.e., the decision will not come into effect until the appeal is considered). This may delay enforcement by several months. Usually, the final approval of the decision by a higher court is needed. If the appeal changes the decision, a new enforcement order will be issued according to the amended requirements.

Obtaining Compensation

Once the money is received (either voluntarily or via bailiffs), the plaintiff should ensure that the amount corresponds to what was awarded by the court. If the defendant delayed payment, interest may be added to the amount owed for the use of someone else’s funds (Article 395 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) — if the plaintiff has made a corresponding request to the court. This is not frequently applied in copyright cases, but it is something to keep in mind.

Court Costs

The issue of reimbursing court costs is addressed separately. Usually, the court decision will specify that the defendant is required to pay the plaintiff’s court fees, and possibly the legal representative's fees. If certain costs were confirmed but the court did not mention them, an additional motion can be filed regarding the allocation of court costs (before the decision enters into force).

After the decision is fully enforced, the plaintiff can consider their demands fulfilled, and the violation is considered to have ceased. If the violation repeats in the future, the plaintiff has the right to go to court again. Moreover, repeat violations can serve as grounds for demanding an increased compensation amount.

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