After months of pressure from the United States government, Russian music site AllofMP3.com has complied with numerous requests to shut down operations.
“The works available from ALLOFMP3.com are protected by the Law of the Russian Federation “On Copyright and Related Rights” and are for personal use of a buyer. Commercial use of such material is prohibited. Recording, copying, distribution on any media is possible only upon special consent of a Rightholder,” representatives of the company say.
According to Russian copyright laws, the site is protected due to the absence of a provision regarding digital music distribution.
Because of that fact the US government, as well as the RIAA, had previously been unsuccessful in attempts to shut down operations of the site.
Operators of AllofMP3.com believe that because of the fact that they are protected by the Russian Federation, there is a stipulation in US copyright law.
They believe the stipulation comes in the form of an exportation clause, which would make the downloading of music from the site legal to US citizens.
AllofMP3.com finally complied with the US government and the RIAA, however, after threats were allegedly made that the site would not be granted entry into the World Trade Organization; agreeing to shut down any sites that “permit illegal distribution of music and other copyright works.”
The official document regarding the compliance of the company was posted November 19 at the website for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, as well as at Digg.
In the document, the details of the agreement between the US and the Russian site are summarized. It states that, “The US and Russia agreed on a binding blueprint for actions Russia will take to address piracy, counterfeiting, and improve protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.”
Currently it would appear that the Russian site will comply with the requests of the United States government and the RIAA, but it will be interesting to see how this story further develops.
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Autmn Davis is a staff writer for Murdok covering ebusiness and technology.
