In a move curious only due to its relatively late timing, the major record production labels in the US have filed suit in federal court against Russian online music distributor AllofMP3.com, seeking $150,000 USD for each single violation of copyright infringement for tracks the site posted without authorization. The lawsuit, brought by Sony BMG, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group - the "big four" - along with Arista Records and Capitol Records, estimates at least 11 million individual intellectual property violations. Thus the publishers are collectively seeking damages equaling the gross national product of many countries. Their action comes five months after music publishers in Britain sued AllofMP3 in High Court there, and two months after a court in Denmark ordered ISPs in that country to block customer access to AllofMP3. Last month, special delegates from the US Government met with their Russian counterparts to discuss measures that country must take in order to meet compliance standards for entry into the World Trade Organization. An agreement between the two nations last month specifically mentioned AllofMP3.com as one site that the Russian government must make an effort to keep under control. Read the rest of the article at BetaNews
AllOfMp3 arnt doing anything illegal, there in Russia and there not breaking Russian Law. how could anyone's damages equal 1.65 Trillion $ in the first place? is there even that many $'s of music sold yearly in the US?
This is what makes me laugh, when people (I use that term loosely, as some 'beings' have the intellectual abilities of stones) sue they sue for such stupid amounts of money - for example - who the hell needs $2.9 Million just because they burnt themselves on some coffee - IT'S COFFEE FOR CHRIST'S SAKE - IT'S GOING TO BE HOT! Anyway, this is just utterly ridiculous, yet again but companies believe they can do as they like purely because they are big companies - They want to sue for $150,00o per infringment (sp?) - why? Do songs cost $150,000 each? I think not.
They want to grind them into paste and make a spectacle of it. It's a longshot, but if AllOfMP3 manages to win the suit, they'll be the next iTunes.
