Russian Prosecutors Seek Jail Time For AllofMP3.com Owner
Russian prosecutors are seeking jail time and restitution from Denis Kvasov, the former owner of AllofMP3, according to a German newspaper. Along with restitution payments of at least $590,000 to EMI, Universal and Warner, Deutsche Presseagentur states that prosecutors are requesting three years jail time for Kvasov.
AllofMP3 was on the radar of governments and industry trade groups, as the site sold MP3 songs at a fraction of the cost compared to standard music services. The Moscow News reports that 80 percent of AllofMP3’s $10-to-14 million per year revenue was made by selling music files.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) successfully persuaded Visa and Mastercard to stop processing all payments to AllofMP3. It was also announced that AllofMP3 was the United Kingdom’s second most popular MP3 service, trailing only Apple iTunes.
The Russian download service officially shut down last month, though the parent company of AllofMP3, Mediaservices, quickly launched MP3Sparks.com - a new service that is still functioning normally. AllofMP3’s servers can still be accessed through the allTunes.com Beta service, which is also owned by Mediaservices.
Last year the World Trade Organization announced Russia could lose its chance of entering the organization if country officials continued to turn a blind eye to the service.
The United States Trade Representative is pleased with the closure of the “notorious site.”
“This action follows months and years of the U.S. government, Congress, and industry urging Russia to step up its protection of intellectual property,” said Gretchen Hamel, USTR spokeswoman.