Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law simplifying business access to the mechanism of experimental legal regimes (EPR) in the field of digital innovations. The corresponding document will come into force in 180 days.

The EPR mechanism helps large, small and medium-sized businesses, individual entrepreneurs to reduce costs and contributes to the launch of advanced projects in various fields.

In order to simplify business access to EPR programs, the list of submitted documents and the time for their consideration are reduced. Thus, the time for consideration of an initiative proposal by the regulatory body is reduced from 25 to 15 working days; by the organization of the business community and the supreme executive body of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation - up to 10 working days. And the period for consideration of an initiative proposal by the Government of the Russian Federation or a coordinating body is reduced from 30 to 20 working days.

The law also obliges EPR participants who are legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to insure their civil liability for causing harm to the life, health or property of other persons, including as a result of the use of solutions created using artificial intelligence (AI).
The EPR program will have to contain provisions on such insurance and requirements for its conditions, including the minimum amount insured, a list of insured risks and insured events (in applicable cases).

This program should also prescribe the procedure and conditions for the use of the results of intellectual activity (RIA), including those created using AI, in the implementation of EPR. The EPR subject will maintain a register of persons who have entered into legal relations with it, as well as a register of RIA created during the implementation of such a regime, including with the use of AI technologies, and indicating their copyright holders.

In addition, the law provides for the creation of a special commission that will consider each case of harm caused by AI technology. The procedure for the formation and work of the commission will be approved by the Ministry of Economic Development, and in the direction of development, testing and implementation of digital innovations in the financial market - by the Bank of Russia.

At the same time, the Government of the Russian Federation will annually submit to the State Duma and the Federation Council a report on the activities carried out within the framework of the implementation of the EPR. The procedure for the preparation, distribution, including publication, of the report will be established by the Government of the Russian Federation in coordination with the Bank of Russia.