Russia and Copyright

There's copyright trouble brewing in Russia.

The owner of a music download site called a****mp3.com (sorry, folks, you won't get its full name from me) has been on trial in Russia for copyright infringement. The owner has evidently been charging way less for downloads than the copyright holders think is appropriate; EMI Group Plc, NBC Universal and Time Warner Inc., all music copyright holders, pressed for and got criminal prosecution in Russia of Denis Kvasov, head of the company that owns the site.

Quoting from an article found on CNN's website:

"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 [Yekaterina Sharapova] agreed with his defence."

Russian president Vladimir Putin would very much like Russia to join the World Trade Organization (WTO); however the easy and cheap availability of pirated copies of copyrighted materials through Russian sources has been a real stumbling block (WTO countries want better enforcement than Russia traditionally provides). This case has been seen as a test of the Russian copyright system, and the copyright holders feel that the verdict is incorrect; they plan to appeal the verdict.

The site in question has closed down, but its successor site, owned by the same company, has opened up.

And so the world goes 'round....

Nancy