US labels sue AllofMP3.com

Online music retailer AllofMP3.com is being sued by a group of key US music labels, according to the BBC. The labels have filed a collective suit which includes Arista Records, Capitol, UMG, and Warner in New York, alleging that the Russian site has been selling artists' songs without permission. "The defendant's entire business... amounts to nothing more than a massive infringement of plaintiffs' exclusive rights under the Copyright Act and New York law," the labels claim. The online store has already flatly refused the allegations, saying that it operates fully within Russian law by paying royalties to the local licensing agency Roms. While Roms itself says it operates within the law, it freely admits that much of its music was obtained without first speaking to the artists or their labels. Russia recently agreed with US demands to close down several websites -- including AllofMP3.com -- in the hopes of one day joining the US in international trade.

by MacNN Staff