The intention to sue was announced yesterday.
Giving oral evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee
for Culture, Media & Sport yesterday as part of an inquiry into
New Media and the Creative Industries, BPI General Counsel Roz
Groome was asked about the hugely-popular site which sells new
albums by popular artists for as little as £1 each.
"AllofMP3.com is illegal under UK law and it is illegal to
download from it," she said. "AllofMP3.com’s claims to be legal are
false … Neither artists nor record companies receive any payment
from the site."
Users of the site in the UK infringe copyright because they are
downloading music that is sold without a licence. But the BPI said
it is not targeting the users.
Groome said: "We are going to sue AllofMP3.com in the UK courts
– we are going to seek a judgment not against the users of the
site, but against the site itself."
In a statement provided to OUT-LAW last night, "the AllofMP3.com
Administration" said the site operates "in full compliance with all
Russian laws." It pointed out that there has been no decision by
any Russian court contesting the site's legality.
It added: "The Russian site AllofMP3.com is not operating or
advertising its business on the territory of any other
countries."
However, John MacKenzie, a Solicitor Advocate with Pinsent
Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, said this point is
inaccurate. "The site is provided in English as well as Russian.
New customers have to pick their country from a list. So a court in
the UK would have no difficulty in finding that it is targeting UK
consumers."
He explained that the question is not where the business is
located but where the legal wrong is committed. "If there is a
substantial wrong, the English courts will almost certainly step
in," he said.
MacKenzie added: "The BPI's case looks solid. If you run an
e-commerce site and want to avoid being subjected to the laws of
another country, don't sell there. It's that simple."
Criminal proceedings against a former director of the site's
parent company, MediaServices Inc., are underway in Russia. Moscow
prosecutors are also investigating a current director, according to
the IFPI.
There are likely to be substantial practical difficulties in
enforcing any order against AllofMP3.com in Moscow. "The BPI might
win an award for damages and an injunction – but may find that all
its case achieves is to send a message to British consumers that
the site is unlawful," said MacKenzie. "It may not stop the site
without assistance from Russian authorities."
