The High Court has granted permission to the British recording industry to sue Russian music website allofmp3.com. The recording industry's trade body, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), want to prove the site is illegal.
Allofmp3.com is the UK's second most popular download site, offering albums for as little as £1 a download. However, the site is accused of breaking UK law by neither seeking the permission of the copyright owners for these downloads nor providing either artists nor labels with any revenue.
A UK court judgement could make it illegal to download music from the site, meaning that UK users will be acting illegally if they continue to use the site. But BPI will not be pursuing users, it's just seeking action against the company itself.
The BPIs General Counsel Roz Groome said "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"
Since the initial announcment of plans to sue the site traffic of downloads from allofmp3.com appear to have increased.
If BPI are successful it has yet to be determined whether a UK court victory will have any legal standing in Russia meaning it may be unenforceable in the site's home country.
|
|
Reader Comments: 0
