The RIAA is seeking $150,000 for each of the 11 million songs AllofMP3 allegedly pirated.
It was first reported by the Washington Post last week that the RIAA was suing the Russian online music distribution company Mediaservices, which owns AllofMP3.com and allTunes.com, for illegally selling copyrighted music.
The companies behind the claim, which include the major record labels Arista Records LLC, Warner Bros. Records Inc., Capitol Records Inc. and UMG Recordings Inc., filed the suit in a New York federal court claiming that “…Mediaservices’ sites sell millions of songs by their artists without paying them ‘a dime’ for the right to do so.”
“Defendant’s entire business … amounts to nothing more than a massive infringement of plaintiffs’ exclusive rights under the Copyright Act and New York law,” according to the lawsuit.
As part of their claim, the labels are seeking $150,000 USD for each of the 11 million songs that were downloaded from June to October 2006 from the AllofMP3.com website.
Now how much money the site has made is unknown but, certainly its profits are not in the trillions of dollars.
“AllofMP3 understands that several U.S. record label companies filed a lawsuit against Media Services in New York,” an unnamed “senior company official” stated. “This suit is unjustified as AllofMP3 does not operate in New York. Certainly the labels are free to file any suit they wish, despite knowing full well that AllofMP3 operates legally in Russia. In the mean time, AllofMP3 plans to continue to operate legally and comply with all Russian laws.”
What he has to say is true, for isn’t AllofMP3 currently complying with Russian copyright laws?
As I previously reported, technically AllOfMP3 does obey the law-Russian law. It pays the standard 15% Russian licensing fee that applies to online music to ROM, the Russian Organization for Multimedia & digital systems. ROM is the Russian equivalent of the RIAA, and according to their website they are “…the national Russian organization providing professional collective management of authors’ property rights and protection of interests of rights holders in cases of use of their works in digital interactive networks, including the Internet.” But, unfortunately for AllOfMP3 the RIAA doesn’t recognize ROM’s legitimacy, perhaps out of fear that it would help legitimize AllOfMP3 and erode their position against it.
Furthermore, considering that they already have online distribution deals with other companies like Microsoft and Apple for instance, it stands to reason that it is not that copyright infringement is the concern but, rather the amount in royalty payments that the Russian sites are required to pay.
After related recent events in which the RIAA was demanding a cut of the profits from every one of Microsoft’s Zune players sold, as well as talk that it would seek a similar arrangement in future deals with Apple’s iTunes, it’s no wonder that the RIAA wants to make sure it gets as much money as it can, consumers and the laws of sovereign countries be dammed.
*UPDATE: From the AllOfMP3 site
An attempt by the major record labels to use a U.S. court to as part of its campaign against AllofMP3.com is imprudent.
AllofMP3 understands that several US record label companies filed a lawsuit against Mediaservices in New York. This suit is unjustified as AllofMP3.com does not operate in New York. Certainly the labels are free to file any suit they wish, despite knowing full well that AllofMP3.com operates legally in Russia.
In the mean time, AllofMP3.com plans to continue to operate legally and comply with all Russian laws.
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Stupid heads!
I want a Billion trillion zillion dollars! Says Dr Evil
olololo……..”one-beeelllion dollars”….
Are there even $1.65 trillion dollars OUT there? In any form?
Just when I THOUGHT the RIAA could not act any more stupid than it already has…along comes this.
Does the RIAA think that Moscow is in New York now? Thank God it’s not!
It looks like they want to rule the entire planet.
just image if they could pay that amount. the RIAA woudnt have to make music any more. it could make a stable business out of suing people. wow what an idea. invest in copyrights and sue infringers. its the new stock market!
of course they want that much how else u think we ar trying to get the us out of debt..this time thy want the whole amount from one company not from a single person
I like the banner off to the right maybe downloading communism isn’t such a bad idea or at least socialism isn’t. Let’s take money from these RIAA fools and give it to people who actually deserve it!
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36648
ZP made it on the inquirer (a major UK tech news site). I read that and was like….I know those guys!
Llololo…I love The Inquirer hadnt seen that though…..very nice.
i need to sue the riaa for wasting my time reading about their bs…if its legal in the country its operating in then there is nothing wrong with it….
“@#3 Are there even $1.65 trillion dollars OUT there? In any form?”
yes Considering the U.S GNP is around 10 trillion yearly that amount of money does exist though not in the posession of any one entity.