Intellectual property, Russia and the MP3 site: an update

Following the signing of the WTO accession treaty (some 800 pages long!) on 15 November in Hanoi, US and Russia reached agreement on intellectual property on 28 November. As part of this agreement, a copyright hotline is to be set up to combat piracy.

It was also reported that Russia has accepted to shut down the famous, or shall we say notorious, MP3 site, AllofMP3.com.

Yet the site continues to function. It has also mounted a spirited defence of its position. This includes an expanded FAQ section, which argues that the site is legal under the Russian law and, more contentiously, under the US law. The link section was expanded to include such anti-piracy crusaders as the RIAA and IFPI, which repeatedly complained about AllofMP3.com.

Following the US–Russia agreement and rumours of imminent shutdown, AllofMP3.com has distributed a press statement, saying that the site will not be shut down by Russian authorities.

Russia has agreed to modify its laws by 1 June 2007 to clarify the copyright situation. AllofMP3 pledged to alter its business model to fit within the new parameters. It also may decide to follow Napster, Kaaza and BitTorrent, which used their notoriety to negotiate lucrative paths to legality with large copyright holders.