Allofmp3.com: setting the record straight

LONDON, UK (By Alex Jacob/ IFPI) - Allofmp3.com is not a legal service either in Russia or anywhere else. It is distributing music without any permission from the artists or copyright holders. Unlike all the legitimate sites, it does not pay artists or copyright holders so it is effectively stealing from those who create music. Like most things that appear to be too good to be true, allofmp3.com is not what it seems.

The site claims to have a licence from ROMS, a Russian organisation that claims to be a collecting society. Yet ROMS has no rights from the record companies whatsoever to licence these pieces of music. ROMS and allofmp3.com are well aware that record companies have not granted authorisation for this service.

Downloading from allofmp3.com is illegal in most countries. Consumers should not be fooled by allofmp3.com but download from one the great value licensed and legitimate sites instead. Allofmp3.com clearly violates rules enshrined in national copyright laws and international copyright treaties, notably those established in the EU Copyright Directive and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Treaties. Even if one took allofmp3.com's license from ROMS as legitimate, which it is clearly not, it would still have no extra-territorial effect. As the site itself acknowledges 'You are not able to download audio and video from AllOFMP3.com if is in conflict with the laws of your country of residence.' [sic];

Legal action is being taken against allofmp3.com. There are two separate criminal proceedings ongoing in Russia regarding Allofmp3 directly. The first case is against the former director of MediaServices (the company that owns and runs Allofmp3 service). The public prosecutor in Moscow has taken on this case and it is now in the trial phase. The second case is against a current director of MediaServices. This case remains in the investigation phase and again will be closely followed by IFPI.

In May 2005 a German court granted a preliminary injunction against the site saying that it had no right to offer music in Germany without the proper rights holders' consent. In October 2005 the Italian authorities shut down a portal, allofmp3.it, and began a criminal investigation into it.