No links to a cheap music
service - The AllofMp3 Case
AllofMp3, a Russian website, where you can get loads of
music for about $0.50 for a whole album, has long been
an annoyance for the record industry. Due to a loophole in the Russian
copyright legislation they did not succeed in shutting down the service. The
website came under criminal investigation in Russia for copyright violations,
but in March 2005, it emerged that allofmp3.com wasn't breaking any current
Russian laws. That did not stop the music industry from suing AllofMp3 in other
countries. In Germany, a District Court in Munich has prohibited allofmp3 from
making copyrighted data publicly available within Germany by way of a temporary
injunction . As a result of this ruling the Munich law firm, Waldorf, on behalf
of some record companies (Edel, EMI, Sony BMG, SPV,
Universal and Warner) started sending warning letters to the operators of
German websites which link to AllofMP3. The notice says: "By establishing a
hyperlink to the Internet page in question you are enabling the acquisition of
copyright protected sound recordings of our clients via the illegal download
offer. By illegally providing public access you are thereby objectively
supporting the illegal dissemination of copyright protected sound recordings
[...] or even aiding and abetting such activity." The fine for non-removal of a
link to AllofMP3 by private persons is €75,000.
- July 11, 2005:
Warning notices on account of links to AllofMP3, Heise:
"The music industry has begun to carry out its threat and is sending warning
notices to website operators who have set links to the Russian music
download platform AllofMP3."
