James Delahunty
23 Feb 2005 8:54
A Russian MP3 site, allofmp3.com is under criminal investigation, accused of copyright abuse by selling digital audio tracks in the MP3 format to consumers for just pennies. The site appears to charge per MB of download, about 2 cents a MB. The group sells music from bands like the Beatles and others who have not authorised digital distribution yet. The Russian site claimed it had licenses to do so from a local clearing house, but record labels have maintained that the licenses weren't valid.
The Moscow City Police Computer Crimes division completed an investigation into allofmp3.com and recommended that the prosecutor charge the site's operators for criminal copyright infringement. "We have consistently said that AllofMP3.com is not licensed to distribute our members' repertoire in Russia or anywhere else," Igor Pozhitkov, regional director of IFPI Moscow said in a statement. "We are pleased that the police are bringing this important case to the attention of the prosecutor."
This is good news for the entertainment industry as it can be seen as a step forward for copyright holders in Russia. The music industry has had some problems in the past trying to convince Russian authorities to deal with piracy cases. The music market in Russia is ranked No. 12 in the world, which was about $326 million in 2003. The IFPI claim however that 64% of music consumed in the country has been pirated. The Moscow City Prosecutor's office has until March 7 to decide whether to act on the police department's recommendation.
Source:
News.com