AllofMP3 boss Kvasov ‘not guilty’
p2pnet news | P2P:- The entertainment cartels, fronted primarily by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) with the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) close behind, have suffered a major defeat in Russia.
Their efforts to pillory Denis Kvasov, the man behind AllofMP3.com, have failed.
Backed by the George W. Bush administration, with US Trade Representative Susan Schwab leading the way, labels Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG and studios Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney have been engaging in an unprincipled campaign to annihilate any thing which looks even remotely like competition.
They claim file sharing is ruining their businesses, at the same time reporting record profits.
However, their real motivation is to gain complete and total control of how ‘product’ is distributed, and by whom..
Now a Moscow court has set Kvasov free, ruling there wasn’t enough evidence to find him guilty of illegally selling copyrighted music files online.
“Investigators opened criminal proceedings against Denis Kvasov, former head of Media Service, which owned the Web site, after U.K.-based Emi Records, U.S. Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group filed a 5 million-ruble ($200,000) compensation claim for alleged financial losses,” says RIA Novosti, going on:
“Investigators’ conclusion that Kvasov’s actions were criminal … was premature,” the verdict said.
Investigators said Kvasov had connected a server owned by Media Service to the Internet and illegally sold music recordings to the sum of at least 54,000 rubles (about $2,000) between September 2003 and December 2005.
However, the court decided Russian copyright laws didn’t ban online use of pirated music at the time the offences were alleged to have been committed, says the story,adding:
“Lawyer Eduard Margulyan said Kvasov had acted within the law and made regular payments to the copyright holders, as shown in receipts enclosed in the case. Margulyan also said no illegal copies of music had been found during an inspection of the company’s server.
Prosecutors can appeal the verdict within 10 days.
MP3Sparks and similar sites have been holding the fort.
Click the mic on the right to hear David Bannister’s p2pnetcast of this story >>>> 
Also See:
pillory Denis Kvasov – ‘Jail AllofMP3.com’s Kvasov!’, July 24, 2007
Susan Schwab leading the way – p2pnet talks to AllofMP3.com, May 28, 2007
RIA Novosti – Moscow court clears businessman of online MP3 piracy charges, August 15, 2007
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