(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)
The famous website allofmp3.com was quietly shut down at the beginning of July 2007, but the Russian websites that are selling music online at much cheaper prices are on the rise, one of them winning also a lawsuit against Visa.
Russian authorities pressured the Moscow-based company MediaServices, owner of allofmp3.com, to close its website in order to meet the requirements for the entry into the World Trade Organisation. MediaServices claimed that is was a legal business, paying royalties to a Russian collective society that distributed the collected fees to the copyright holders.
However, a new website, mp3Sparks.com, was opened by MediaServices selling online music. The company considers that the new website is legal under the Russian law, using similar arguments advanced in support of allofmp3.com. Also, another online music Russian website, alltunes.com, has a joint client database with allofmp3.com.
The latter website had a rough time at the beginning of the year when Visa and MasterCard announced that they would no longer process payments for allofmp3.com and alltunes.com, following a request from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) that accused them of copyright infringement.
But Internet-Audit, the owner of alltunes.com, sued Rosbank, the Russian agent of Visa, the international payment system and its affiliate United Card Services, the acquiring center. The Moscow Arbitrary Court decided that VISA's unilateral refusal to accept the payment operations was illegal, considering that, according with the copyright law, neither IFPI or VISA were the right holders representatives.
The decision has put VISA in a difficult position because they need to respect also the court decision and accept payments from Alltunes.com, but also to stick to its original decision, required by the IFPI. According to a Moscow business lawyer: "Visa is likely to press Rosbank down under the threat to recall the credit card acquiring right, so that the bank does not resume credit cards payment through Alltunes under any conditions."
IFPI has announced that they would appeal the decision.
Russian pirates get Visa in court (13.07.2007)
http://eng.cnews.ru/news/top/indexEn.shtml?2007/07/13/258719
Goodbye, Allofmp3.com, Hello, WTO! (5.07.2007)
http://mnweekly.ru/business/20070705/55260798.html
AllofMP3 Shuts Down, Reopens As MP3Sparks.com (3.07.2007)
http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/07/allofmp3-shuts-.html
Russia shuts down Allofmp3.com (2.07.2007)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2016297.ece
EDRI-gram: Russian copyright law gets tougher (13.09.2006)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.17/russia