Hryshchenko's adviser proposes gradually legalizing file hosting service Ex.ua

KYIV, April 1 /UKRINFORM/. One of the possible decisions with respect to the popular file hosting service Ex.ua, because of which the U.S. criticized Ukraine for the insufficient fight against Internet piracy, could be the gradual legalization of this resource.

Oleh Voloshyn, the head of the group of advisers to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko, who last week held meetings in Washington in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the International Intellectual Property Alliance, said this in an interview with UKRINFORM.

"As for the future of Ex.ua, one of the best ways could be the gradual legalization of this online resource so as not to provoke again a wave of public discontent in Ukraine with its closure," Voloshyn said.

In this context, he mentioned the example of YouTube, on which all information was initially placed and the interests of holders were not taken into account. Now, if the holder sees his original product on the website of the resource, he may wish to refer to the management of the video sharing service with the request to remove it or introduce a payment per view. "The point is that the holder starts getting money from a certain moment. It's possible to move gradually from free illegal downloads to licensed downloads, for a small fee," Voloshyn said.

The vice-premier's adviser said that the content of the file sharing service Ex.ua significantly changed last year and that most of the holders' just demands were satisfied.

According to Voloshyn, at all meetings in Washington he was asked why Ukraine reopened Ex.ua. In this regard, he said that the government was forced to listen to public opinion, "and it's a sign of democracy." Instead, during the closure of the file hosting service the U.S. side expressed no public support for the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, whereas representatives of Ukrainian NGOs that receive grants from the United States were first to act as advocates of the pirated online resource, he said.

As reported, the USTR Office is to publish in a month an annual special report on the situation regarding the protection of intellectual property rights in foreign countries. The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) proposed that the Office recognize Ukraine as "the number one pirate" and deprive the country of access to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences.

The main claims to Ukraine are the existence of online sites with illegal content, the largest of which is Ex.ua. Last year's attempt to close the popular file sharing site caused large-scale cyber-attacks and accusations against the Ukrainian authorities concerning the restriction of freedoms.

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