US Official: AllofMP3 Must Shut Down

By Slimy
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Slimy

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The United States is continuing to pressure Russia to shut down the music site allofmp3.com, with a top trade official saying Wednesday it would be hard to see the country being a member of the WTO with the site still operating in the country.

Calls for AllofMP3's demise are again surfacing as the two countries attempt to restart negotiations for Russia to enter the international trade group. Talks stalled in July after persistent disagreements related to agriculture and intellectual property issues.

Representatives from both Russia and the U.S. will meet in Geneva, Switzerland next week with a goal of having an agreement by the end of this month. However, it is likely a non-negotiable stipulation of the talks will be the shutting down of the music site.

AllofMP3 claims it has licenses from Russian Multimedia and Internet Society (ROMS) and the Rightholders Federation for Collective Copyright Management of Works Used Interactively (FAIR).

However, neither the U.S. nor Britain recognize those licenses, and the British music industry sued the site in July. Joining the WTO has been a publicly stated goal of Russian President Putin, and he has begun to talk about intellectual property rights issues in the country recently.

"The dialogue is continuing. We're making progress slowly but steadily and we'll see if we can get there," US Trade Representative Susan Schwab was quoted by Reuters as saying to reporters. "There's no guarantee that we'll get it done."

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The US wants Russia to know that it's really, truly, absolutely serious like a heart attack about putting an end to AllOfMP3.com. How else to explain the recent raft of references (try saying that three times fast) to the site by the highest trade officials in the US government?

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab yesterday told reporters, "I have a hard time imagining Russia becoming a member of the WTO and having a Web site like that up and running that is so clearly a violation of everyone's intellectual property rights."

Schwab has been making the rounds with this kind of talk. Last week, she told the US Chamber of Commerce (PDF) last week that "at the top of the 'notorious markets' list is Russia's allofmp3.com, the Web's number one pay-per-download music site whose catalog consists of illegal copies of music from U.S. recording artists and other right holders." Schwab told the Chamber that Russia's WTO membership hinges on the fate of AllOfMP3.com.

As we reported earlier, a new Russian IP law has come into force that could put an end to the rogue music download site, but we also noted that action in the Duma to reform the country's Civil Code could undo the provisions of the new law. Schwab made clear that the outcome of the Civil Code changes would also be taken into account?the US really wants this thing shut down.

And early in September, Deputy Trade Representative Karan Bhatia told the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, "At the top of that list is Russia's allofmp3.com, a notorious website that is probably stealing from many people here in this room."

The issue has become a talking point for the US Trade Rep's office, largely because of how much money is involved. Bhatia pointed out that more money is earned by US companies from music sold outside the US than from music sold here, and AllOfMP3.com does not set a great example for the rest of the world to follow.

The US and Russia hope to settle accession talks by the end of October, so the number of AllOfMP3.com's remaining days could be as low as the site's music prices.

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dagamer34

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Funny, site's like these make wanting to pirate stuff just plain greedy if you have complete control over what you can do with your music.

I'd like for people to remember that few people actually want to distribute stuff that they've paid for if the price is reasonable. Only the greedy want stuff for free (and will pirate regardless of price).

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badazzEVO8

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Funny, site's like these make wanting to pirate stuff just plain greedy if you have complete control over what you can do with your music.

I'd like for people to remember that few people actually want to distribute stuff that they've paid for if the price is reasonable. Only the greedy want stuff for free (and will pirate regardless of price).

so the major labels arent greedy as well? when my money goes directly to the artists with no middle man, that will be the day i pay for anything

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