Open Licenses And Freedom Of Panorama Recognized In Russian Law | Techdirt

"Techdirt has been reporting on a steady stream of dismal news coming out of Russia, chronicling its increasing clampdown on the Internet, so it's great to hear about something extremely positive happening there. The Wikimedia blog reports on some important changes to Russia's Civil Code, including the following ...

Open licenses introduced...

Freedom of panorama introduced ... 

As the Wikimedia blog post points out, the first of these is crucially important for Wikipedia and free software projects, both of which have existed in a kind of legal limbo until this latest move. That's probably meant that some Russian software companies have been unwilling to embrace licenses like the GNU GPL for their code for fear that it would be unprotected under local law ... Freedom of panorama refers to the right to take photos or videos of public spaces. As an interesting Wikipedia page indicates, this right is by no means universal, and so Russia is a welcome addition to the group of nations that do offer freedom of panorama in at least some form. The move is also a reminder that steady work by dedicated experts can achieve important results even against a retrogressive legal background ..."