OREANDA-NEWS. Western copyright holders of films and musical works may not renew expiring contracts with Russian online platforms. Copyright lawyer Alexei Sorochikhin spoke about this in an interview with Moscow 24. He explained that streaming sites receive the right to broadcast any content on the basis of a contract. Those of them that were concluded before the departure of Western studios from the Russian market should be valid - these are the norms of international law.

I think the situation with foreign works will remain plus or minus more or less stable. At least not in the foreseeable future. There may be isolated incidents of non-renewal of certain licenses that will end. But I don’t see any drastic changes in the situation,” Sorochikhin said.

At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that the contract may contain force majeure conditions that give the right to one of the parties to suspend relations, or even terminate them. Whether the situation in Ukraine is force majeure, each side can interpret in its own way, and if disagreements arise, it is possible to continue proceedings in court, the lawyer added.

According to the human rights activist, whether Western content will remain on Russian platforms will also depend on the terms of the licenses issued by the copyright holders. On average, they last 5 years.

Previously, the largest Western film studios Sony, Walt Disney and Warner Bros. decided to suspend the release of their films in Russian distribution. The show of the new part of "Batman" was canceled the day before the official premiere. All three film giants explained their action by disagreeing with the military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.