Alltunes.com claims win in Russian copyright case

iTuneski resurgence?

By Kelly Fiveash • Get more from this author

Posted in Law, 16th July 2007 16:20 GMT

Increase your knowledge of the latest threats to your busines

Updated Alltunes.com has won a court case against a Russian agent of Visa over its decision to disconnect the online music stores' payment system.

In a court ruling in Moscow, Rosbank Visa was found to have acted illegally in cutting off transactions made to the store, according to a statement from Alltunes.

Visa and Mastercard had blocked payments for Alltunes, which previously operated as AllofMP3, after the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) accused the website of copyright violation.

Mediaservices, the parent company of both AllofMP3 and Alltunes, has always insisted that it hadn't broken intellectual property and copyright laws via its websites.

In the statement put out by Alltunes, the court was quoted as saying the ruling was made because "the decision on whether copyright has been violated or not can only be taken by court based on a suit filed by exclusive copyright holders, but neither IFPI nor Visa own such rights".

It found that Visa had acted illegally by not fulfilling the business agreement it had with Alltunes.

The Register is awaiting comment from the IFPI on the Russian court's decision.

Update

Responding to the outcome of the Alltunes court case, the IFPI told El Reg:

"This decision is taken on a narrow point of Russian contract law and does not in any way legalise Alltunes which is flagrantly violating copyright laws in Russia and elsewhere.

"Visa has made it clear it is committed to ensuring that illegal transactions do not take place on its networks. Meanwhile the criminal actions already bought in Russia against those behind Alltunes are continuing." ®

Tune into our application security webcast, click here