Legal battles continue…
July 5, 2006
The British High Court has ruled that the British Phonograph Industry (BPI) may sue allofmp3.com, a popular Russian music download site. However, it’s still unclear how will a ruling be enforced, as the defendant company is based outside the UK.
“This is an important step forward in our battle against AllofMP3.com. We have maintained all along that this site is illegal and that the operator of the site is breaking UK law by making sound recordings available to UK based customers without the permission of the copyright owners.” (Roz Groome, BPI general counsel)
However, the music industry said that the ROMS license is not valid and does not cover users in foreign countries.
AllofMP3.com success is based on its low prices. Individual tracks are sold for 7 cents USD, while albums cost $1.88. According to BPI, such prices are possible because neither the recording companies nor the artist receive any payment.
While BPI may indeed be able to prove that the Russian site is illegal, the court’s ruling is unlikely to affect its activity, as Russian authorities are not obligated to enforce the decision of a foreign court.