For software protection in Russia you can use two methods - register domestic software in the Register of the Ministry of Digital Development and obtain a certificate or patent from Rospatent
The Russian Software Register was created in 2016 in order to verify the applicant’s exclusive right to the program and ensure that the copyright holder is not or is not controlled by a foreign person.
The creation of a domestic register is necessary not only for government agencies, which are prohibited by law from using foreign software in their activities, but also for copyright holders of software, the inclusion of which in the register allows them to participate in government procurement and count on tax benefits. So according to sub. 26 clause 2 art. 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the implementation of a program included in the register of the Ministry of Digital Development (including the provision of licenses and remote user access to software) is not subject to taxation, while other companies must pay 20% of sales. The only exception is software created for distributing advertising information or performing intermediary actions when concluding transactions with marketplaces.
In addition, a significant advantage of registering software in the Russian registry is the lack of competition from foreign developers. Thus, according to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1236 in Russia, government agencies are required to use Russian software. That is, the government customer must use software created by Russian programmers and when conducting government procurement, he must rely on the Ministry of Digital Development registry. Otherwise, if there is no alternative, then departments must prepare a justification for why Russian software cannot be used.
An important advantage of registering domestic software in the Register of the Ministry of Digital Development is also the opportunity for the company to receive a grant from the state for the development of the project.
The main requirements for inclusion in the software register in accordance with the requirements of Government Decree No. 1236 dated November 16, 2015 include:
- software of a company where the share of foreign participation is above 50%, and foreign citizens receive more than 30% of the proceeds from software sales, cannot be registered in the register;
- confirmation of the existence of an exclusive right to the software and the absence of foreign programs and foreign influence on the copyright holder, the dependence of its profit when selling the software on revenues from abroad;
- access to programs must be open throughout the Russian Federation and not limited to its individual subjects;
- confirmation that the software is lawfully introduced into civil circulation and the data is stored on the territory of Russia;
- The software should not contain state secrets;
- if the software is developed to protect data, then a security certificate must be issued for it;
- the exclusive right to the software should extend throughout the world and for the entire period of its validity, and updates, warranty service and technical support should not depend on foreign participation;
- in the case of developing office software, it is necessary to include at least three people with citizenship of one of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union among the system developers.
It is necessary to remember that in order to register software in the Russian registry, you must first register with the State Services, obtain an electronic digital signature and log in on the Ministry of Digital Development website, indicate the name of the software, the status of the copyright holder (Russian Federation, municipality, subject of the Russian Federation, citizen, non-profit organization) and provide information about the company (name, INN, OGRN, charter, information about beneficiaries).
If there are foreigners among the owners, it is necessary to indicate the size of their shares, as well as provide information confirming that they receive less than 30% of the company’s revenue from sales of software or licenses.
In addition, for successful registration of software in the registry, it is necessary to provide information about the program, a manual for the user and administrator, instructions for installing the software, a power of attorney if the application is submitted by a third-party organization, evidence of ownership of the program by the applicant, and to conduct software testing, developers are required to provide Ministry of Digital Development experts with access to the program by specifying a password or key.
After conducting a formal examination and publishing the data on the website, the Ministry begins to review the documents on their merits. The expert council studies the program, issues an opinion, and if a positive decision is made, information about the software’s registration in the registry is published on the website.
Completing a package of documents for registering software in the Ministry of Digital Development registry requires certain knowledge and skills, and therefore, in order not to incur temporary and financial losses, it is safer to involve specialists in the work.
