Some cafes are struggling to make ends meet
Microsoft has declared a five month amnesty for Russian and Ukrainian internet cafes and computer clubs caught using pirate software in a bid to encourage them to switch to legally licensed programmes.
"The majority of these clubs have a tough time finding the money to pay for licensed software," says Eugene Danilov, manager of the strategic projects department of Microsoft CIS office in Moscow.
"Internet cafes are very important to provide access to the net and promote communication and education, particularly among the young."
"Without licenses, these cafes are at risk from the police who use the lack of legal software to pressure them into paying bribes," he continued.
Making waves
The amnesty is good news for surfers such as 24-year-old Anna Golovatiouk at the TimeOnline café, Eastern Europe's largest internet café with more than 200 terminals, just beside the Kremlin.
Ms Golovatiouk is from the far east of Russia, six time zones away from Moscow, and arrived here last summer to look for work.
Without access to the internet she could not afford to phone home to her family and friends.
"For me it's very important," she says.
"I use the internet every couple of days. I couldn't possibly afford my own computer and internet access at home.
"I even found my job as a fashion designer on the web."
Growing business
More than half the users at this café, which uses licensed software, are students.
Young professionals account for a further 30% of users, according to TimeOnline which charges up to $2 an hour for access to the web.
Guy Eames, general director of TimeOnline, says that many young Russians can afford such fees, and that business is growing.
The café, which opened just over a year ago, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
"Internet cafes are immensely important for Russians and the growth of the internet here," he said.
"This is where people try it out for the first time and if they didn't have cafes they basically wouldn't be online at all."
Numbers remain low
Some 4.3 million Russians regularly use the web, just 3% of the population, according to official statistics released by the Communications Ministry in February.
Microsoft decided on the blanket suspension of legal action after a number of clubs and cafes pleaded for the software giant not to prosecute, and pledged they would acquire legitimate user licenses.
Some cafes, struggling to make ends meet, have also asked to postpone payments to help spread costs during the transitional period.
Piracy problems
Counterfeiting is big business in Russia, which is awash with high quality faked copies of music, videos, and software as well as food and clothes.
The criminal gangs that run the trade are well financed and highly organised with many of the fakes produced in Russia and Central Asia using high tech equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Experts estimate that as much as 90% of the computer software in use in Russia alone is counterfeit and that losses to copyright holders run to 100s of millions of dollars annually.
Government 'reluctance'
The Russian government has frequently announced efforts to clamp down on the illicit trade.
But little has changed in the open markets and subways of the capital where counterfeit goods are brazenly sold in public.
"Though the laws exist to stamp out the problem they are not properly implemented because protecting intellectual property rights is not a high priority for the government," says Alexander Shelemekh, of the Moscow-based Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights.
Some suggest that is because the government believes Russians benefit from piracy.
Full priced CD's, videos and software are well beyond the financial means of most ordinary people in a country where the average monthly salary is about $100.
"The other problem is that the authorities simply don't have the financial resources to seriously tackle the counterfeit trade," Mr Shelemekh.
Revenue drain
Despite the lack of real progress the Russian government has strong financial reasons to take IP protection seriously.
A Deloitte and Touche survey estimated losses to international product manufacturers on just 22 items to be worth $473m.
Lost tax revenues to the government were put at $174m.
The survey stressed that these estimates were "conservative" reflecting the "lower limit" of possible tax losses.
Scaled up to include all goods commonly copied, the survey suggested that government losses may top $1bn annually.
But rather than relying on government intervention, Mr Shelemekh also urges foreign companies and right holders to take action themselves.
"Copyright holders should take a more proactive stand to use the laws that exist through the courts and not just wait for the government to solve this problem for them," he says.
When put to the test, the law can work, he believes.