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Written by tinfoil
on
Wednesday, 06 September 2006 20:43
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ArsTechnica: Like the rumors of Mark Twain's death, reports of AllofMP3.com's demise
have been greatly exaggerated. A new Russian law that came into force
this week could mark the end of the site's defiant run, though, as
Russia attempts to enter the World Trade Organization and bring its
intellectual property laws into agreement with international norms.
AllofMP3 has faced legal pressure
for some time, but Russian authorities have never moved against the
site. It operates using a loophole in Russian law that allows it to
take out a "license" to distribute music, even if the group doing the
licensing has no permission to do so from the artists involved. The
Duma actually passed legislation in July of 2004 that gave works
distributed on the Internet the same protections as those published in
traditional formats, but the law did not take effect until September 1,
2006, according to Russian daily Kommersant.
The delay was so that sites like AllofMP3 could have the time needed to
come into compliance, but that would have required AllofMP3 to spend a
significant chunk of change, so the site didn't bother.
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