Allofmp3.com boss acquitted
Wednesday, 15 August 2007 17:06A Russian court found the former boss of music download Web site allofmp3.com not guilty of breaching copyright, in a case considered a crucial test of Russia's commitment to fighting piracy.
The allofmp3.com Web site angered Western music companies by undercutting the price of downloads in deals they said breached copyright law.
Denis Kvasov, head of MediaServices which owned the site, was put on trial after entertainment companies EMI, Universal and Time Warner pressed for a prosecution.
The site has been a thorny issue in negotiations between Russia and the United States over Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation, a key aim of President Vladimir Putin.
At the beginning of the year global credit card companies stopped allowing customers to pay allofmp3.com for music downloads and by July the Web site had quietly closed down.
Kvasov always said he was within the law because the site paid part of its income to ROMS, a Russian organisation which collects and distributes fees for copyright holders.
The judge agreed with his defence.
At the height of its popularity allofmp3.com attracted millions of bargain-hunting music lovers across the world.
It would typically sell the world's most popular tracks at a huge discount to US competitors.
Although allofmp3.com has disappeared, another Russia-based discount music Web site, mp3sparks.com, has since emerged, also owned by MediaServices.
