News BPI sues All Of MP3

The Russian government will not stop in to protect AllOfMp3 - Russia wants to join the WTO (World Trade Organisation), and one of the stumbling blocks to its entry is the requirement for laws and practices to be in place which provide some sort of legal protection for 'intellectual property'.

It is only the absence of such controls in existing laws in place in Russia that allows AllOfMp3 to continue to operate in Russia, as there is no legislation in place which says the service it offers is illegal! Thus far this has prevented any legal action - I'll be intrigued as to how the BPI go about launching theirs.

I reckon the BPI action is more about drawing the spotlight onto AllOfMP3, and trying to pressure the Russian government to do something about it unilaterally, rather than expecting any court ruling on its own to have any real bearing on whether the site continues to operate or not. The reason I feel this is, is that essentially gaining WTO entry will be of far greater political significance to Russia than any music downloading service will be. In time then, I expect Russian law to be altered to provide some form of legal status for 'intellectual property', which will include music, thus distribution of it without paying those who own the rights will become illegal.

The BPI are I feel targetting AllOfMp3 merely to draw attention to the existence of the site, and its operation from within Russia, and hoping the Russian government will step in and close it as to do so serves their own interests (joining the WTO, with all the apparent economic benefits) far more than to defend the site (Putin doesn't seem much of an iPod type-o-guy to me ).

My 2p...

 

the problem is...when will RIAA stop doing this....instead of making an environment were music download companies can evolve and make money to fund the artists....NO!!!! they think CDs are the future.....CDs should be dead by now and another format should be used...for example...music downloads......cheap, easy to get music downloads with no DRM like normal music CDs.......

 

I think the **AAs are scared because, with the proliferation of the internet artists are less reliant on labels' extensive CD production/distribution facilities and they can, therefore, begin to make demands for a greater cut or even go out and sell music on their own. I think this whole charade regarding DRM etc. is not to prevent piracy as much as it is to ensure the continued (and increasing) profits of the fat cats running the record labels. IMHO

-ed out

 

Will,

Thanks for that post about the WTO - that was what I was talking about, but couldn't remember when I was writing...

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Edd,

Yeah - they're greedy. Plain and simple.

 

All of mp3.com

I had not even heard of the site until i saw an article on the BBC website, so surely extensive news coverage about the site has not helped. I logged on straight away and started downloading.
Perhaps the BPI and RIAA should just leave us all alone and concentrate on something else, like making the downloads in this country cheaper. www.motherchuffa.com