Section I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Purposes and sphere of application of this Federal Law

1. This Federal Law shall regulate relations arising during the process of production, placement and distribution of advertising on the markets of goods, work, services (hereinafter - goods) of the Russian Federation, including the markets of banking, insurance and other services connected with the use of monetary means belonging to citizens (physical persons) and legal entities, and also securities markets.

The purposes of this Federal Law are to defend against unfair competition in the field of advertising, and to avert and cease inappropriate advertising capable of misleading advertising consumers or causing harm to the health of citizens, the property of citizens or legal entities, harm to the environment or to the honour, merit or business reputation of the indicated persons, and advertising that encroaches on the interests of society and the principles of humanity and morality.

2. This Federal Law is also applicable when activities completed outside the boundaries of the Russian Federation by legal entities or citizens of the Russian Federation in the field of advertising lead to the limitation of competition, or the misleading of legal entities and physical persons on the territory of the Russian Federation, or lead to other negative consequences in the goods markets of the Russian Federation.

3. This Federal Law extends to foreign legal entities and to foreign citizens and persons without citizenship (individual entrepreneurs registered according to the established procedure) who produce, place and disseminate advertisements on the territory of the Russian Federation.

4. This Federal Law does not extend to political advertisements.

5. This Federal Law does not extend to announcements by physical persons, including those made through the mass media, that are not related to conducting entrepreneurial activity.

Article 2. Basic Concepts

For the purpose of this Federal Law the following basic concepts shall apply:

Advertising/advertisement - distribution of information about a physical person or legal entity, goods, ideas or projects (advertising information) in any form with the help of any media, which is intended for an indeterminate group of persons and is aimed at forming or supporting interest in such physical persons, legal entities, goods, ideas and projects and facilitating the sale of goods, ideas and projects;

Inappropriate advertising - unfair, unauthentic, unethical, knowingly untrue and other advertisements that violate the requirements regarding their content, timing, location and method of dissemination as established by the legislation of the Russian Federation;

Counter-advertising - a refutation of inappropriate advertising disseminated for the purpose of counteracting its consequences;

Advertiser - a legal entity or physical person who is the source of advertising information for the production, placement and subsequent distribution of advertising;

Advertisement producer - a legal entity or physical person conducting entire or partial preparation of advertising information into a form ready for distribution;

Advertisement distributor - a legal entity or physical person that places and/or distributes advertising information by means of supplying and/or using property, including the technical means of radio broadcasting, television broadcasting as well as communications channels, transmission time and by other means;

Advertising consumers - legal entities and physical persons to whose attention advertising is directed, or may be directed, and who are or may be affected correspondingly as a consequence of advertising.

Article 3. Legislation of the Russian Federation on Advertising

The legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising consists of this Federal Law and other federal laws passed in accordance with it.

Relationships arising during the process of production, placement and distribution of advertising may be regulated also by edicts of the President of the Russian Federation, normative legal acts of the government of the Russian Federation and normative legal acts of federal executive agencies issued in accordance with this Federal Law.

Article 4. Author's Right and Related Rights to Advertising

Advertising may, fully or partially, be the objects of author's right and related rights. In this case, author's right and related rights are subject to defence in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Russian Media Law Sources | On Advertising