iTuneski boss escapes the gulag
'Sloppy' prosecutors fail in AllofMP3 case
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The former owner of buccaneering music download site AllofMP3.com was cleared of copyright violation charges by a court in Moscow yesterday.
Denis Kvasov was boss of Media Services, the company behind AllofMP3.com and other Russian music sites, between 2003 and 2005. A guilty verdict could have meant three years jail and €420,000 in damages payable to the major record labels.
According to Interfax, judge Yekaterina Sharapova criticised prosecutors in her verdict. She said: "This is an unusual case, and prosecutors have to be careful in collecting evidence in connection with intellectual rights violations.
"I want to draw particular attention to the sloppy job done by prosecutors in collecting and analyzing the facts."
Igor Pozhitkov, director of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in Russia, said he was "very disappointed" with the outcome. Media Services has alway claimed legality through payments to Russian collection society ROMS. The IFPI says ROMS does not represent the record industry's rights in Russia and does not send them any royalties.
AllofMP3.com was finally shut down by authorities in July after an international lobbying campaign which the US said threatened Russia entry to the World Trade Organisation. New laws which come into effect at the beginning of next year are designed to close loopholes in Russian intellectual propety law.
For now, Media Services' cut-price downloads are still accessible via MP3sparks.com, however.
According to the Moscow Times ROMS chief Oleg Nezus said a 2004 decision means AllofMP3.com was always legal and may resume sales. He said: "No court has overruled the Moscow Arbitration Court decision, and as long as it stands, AllofMP3.com is legal in Russia. Our opponents lack legal arguments for the closure of the web site."
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COMMENTS
Ummm how about taking some basic history classes?
"Make the 2nd world war be on the digital front ;)"
Second...? Ouch.
Dunno where you're from or have been raised but based on the fact you speak English I think it must be some very rural part of the Western World where a person can live without ever hearing of World War II - because it's already ended, sixty-some (62 in Europe, 61 and 11 months in Asia) years ago.
Some would argue we're in the Third already, some would say that's also ended circa 1990 but one thing is sure, we - thanks God - are way beyond the Second. You might want to take those skipped classes after all... :P
In Soviet Russia...
... mp3 listens YOU!!!
Actually Putin has been taking advantage of the Cold War-era disputes to raise popularity, if I were him, I'd stick the middle finger to the USA and give full support to allofmp3. Make the 2nd world war be on the digital front ;)
Great that the Russian courts protect Russian laws
Unfortunately however, being Russia and being that Putin has sided with the US on this one due to his will to enter the WTO you can likely assume that the boss of allofmp3.com will shortly go down with a dose of the old pollonium poisoning.
Sadly, whilst it's the courts that made the decision, it's not the courts that run Russia, it's the FSB/KGB - Putin and co.
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