The government has repeatedly tried to ban pirate traders

Russia's future economic growth depends on improving copyright enforcement, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has said, adding that "chaos and lawlessness" characterise Russia's approach to intellectual property.

Mr Kasyanov was speaking at the first meeting of a government commission, charged with finding new ways of stamping out counterfeiting.

Abuse of intellectual property is rampant in Russia: according to Mikhail Lesin, the minister in charge of mass media, 80% of videos and 85% of music on the Russian market are pirated.

Overall, Mr Lesin said, sales of pirated products in Russia are worth some $1bn (�623m) a year.

"It is an entire grey industry with well-established channels for the supplies of raw materials and copies of the latest audio and video products," Mr Lesin said.

"The industry can turn out mass-scale copies and runs a nationwide sales network."

Serial failures

Over the past few years, the Russian Government has repeatedly committed itself to improving copyright enforcement.

The large street markets that specialise in CDs, videos and software have been periodically raided, and laws banning piracy are relatively explicit.

But government efforts have had little impact on the industry, which is one of the main sources of income for organised crime.

Russian piracy is highly efficient: top-quality copies of the latest Hollywood films are available on the streets of Moscow for a couple of dollars, often long before their release in the US.

Legitimate music and technology retailers have opened up in Russia, but their prices are several times higher than the pirates'.

Key test

This latest commission, the highest-profile attempt so far to tackle the problem, is predicated on the notion that abuse of copyright is an obstacle to Russian economic growth.

Mr Kasyanov needs to prove the effectiveness of Russian law

A host of multinational companies - especially in the media, technology and other branded-goods industries - have complained that they cannot invest much in Russia without assurances that their intellectual property will not be stolen.

More immediately, Russia needs to prove its credentials in copyright protection if it is to join prestigious international bodies such as the World Trade Organisation or the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The issue is a key test of whether the government of President Vladimir Putin can enforce tough laws, as well as simply drawing them up.