Trade body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has been
given permission by the UK High Court to proceed with its suit
against AllofMP3.com, even though the company is based in
Russia.
But a legal expert in Moscow said that even if the BPI did win
its case the judgment would not apply in Russia.
"Russia doesn't have any agreement with the UK for implementing
British court decisions so unless the Russian state really wishes
to implement the decision it would not hold in Russia," said Andrei
Mincov, an intellectual property attorney in Moscow for Baker &
McKenzie. "Under the principle of reciprocity it could be, but that
is not written law so if there is no demand from the top it will
not be implemented."
The Russian site has been at the centre of legal controversy for
some months. It claims to be a legitimate music download site with
licences from collection agencies to sell the music it offers for
as little as £1 per album. The music industry has argued that
neither artists nor labels receive any revenue from these agencies
for the downloads.
A UK court judgment could make it illegal to download music from
the site, meaning that UK users will be acting illegally. But BPI
General Counsel Roz Groome told a House of Commons Select Committee
last month that it would not pursue users, it would just act
against the company itself.
"We are going to seek a judgment not against the users of the
site, but against the site itself," said Groome.
The industry body is now seeking that judgment against the site.
"We have maintained all along that this site is illegal and that
the operator of the site is breaking UK law by making sound
recordings available to UK based customers without the permission
of the copyright owners," said Groome on the news of the permission
to proceed in court. "Now we will have the opportunity to
demonstrate in the UK courts the illegality of this site."
The BPI would not comment on how it would enforce any judgment.
One potential course of action is believed to be that the UK High
Court negotiates with Russian prosecutors over the status of any UK
judgment. Russia could simply agree to abide by a UK judgment,
according to legal sources, "in the spirit of international
friendliness".
