A married couple has been charged with online copyright infringement.

The Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has blocked the domain "PuzKarapuz.ru," which hosted counterfeit video content publicly. The domain's owners, a married couple named Irina and Ivan Podorozhnikov, have been charged under Article 146.2 of the Russian Criminal Code for copyright infringement. The couple faces up to six years in prison.

The Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs received complaints about the illegal distribution of counterfeit video and audio products on the website "PuzKarapuz.ru." These included titles such as "Smeshariki," "Charmed," "Bimuvi: The Honey Conspiracy," and others. Anyone could download these products for free.

The Podorozhnikovs' income came primarily from placing banners on their website. They received funds through WebMoney Transfer and Yandex.Money, and the domain itself was registered to a deceased Ukrainian citizen.

In the summer of 2010, the Podorozhnikovs were already accused of violating Article 146.3 of the Russian Criminal Code. At that time, they, together with a citizen of another country, registered the website interfilm.ru under a fictitious name and hosted it on the server of a Danish hosting company. The site contained numerous audio and video works that could be downloaded completely free of charge. All of the products were posted without the necessary permissions from copyright holders or the payment of royalties.

The resource operated for almost a year and a half, infringing the copyrights of several film companies. They estimated the value of the exclusive distribution rights to the films at 38.7 billion rubles.

Despite this charge, the couple continued their illegal activities in this area. The website PuzKarapuz.ru targeted children and their parents. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a ruling blocking the e-wallets and other payment systems used for the payments.

Today, the investigation is ongoing, and both opponents and supporters of the decision to close the site have already appeared on the Internet.