[IP] AllofMp3 / RIAA-IFPI duke it out
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 26, 2006 7:56:02 PM EST
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] AllofMp3 / RIAA-IFPI duke it out
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[Note: This item comes from reader Steve Schear. DLH]
From: Steve Schear <s.schear@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 26, 2006 11:14:27 AM PST
To: dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: AllofMp3 / RIAA-IFPI duke it out
In the first serious battle between AllofMP3.com and the recording
industry, in Octrober, VISA and Master-Charge systems blocked all
AllofMP3.com transactions.
-- Round 1: to The Industry
Also in October, in a quiet legal proceeding that caught little in
the way of media attention, the IFPI brought a civil lawsuit against
Danish ISP Tele2, demanding the cessation of customer access to
AllofMP3.com. Tele2 is one of Europe’s largest ISPs, and like
anywhere else in the world, has its fair share of customers who enjoy
the Russian gray market site. The IFPI (International Federation of
the Phonographic Industry) brought the lawsuit in hopes of forcing
the ISP to block AllofMP3.com from its customers.
The IFPI prevailed and a court ruled that Tele2 must block
AllofMP3.com from its Danish customers. The Danish recording industry
had been active in its attempts to prevent Danish citizens from
accessing the site.
-- Round 2: to The Industry.
The telecommunications industry in Denmark has expressed outrage and
concern over the verdict, as they feel it implies ISPs are now
responsible for the activities of their users – not to mention a
legal gray area where no verdict has been made against AllofMP3.
The court decision that forced ISP Tele2 to block access to
AllofMP3.com had a ripple effect on other service providers. On
December 12, the ISP Perspektiv Bredband also blocked AllofMP3.com
from its Swedish and Danish customers.
AllofMP3.com is a Russian music store who sells an unrivaled
collection of digital music for dramatically reduced prices. Not only
are music files purchased on AllofMP3.com of a superior quality to
most "authorized" services, the music sold has no DRM and is
available in a variety of formats. Because copyright holders claim
they have yet to see a dime from AllofMP3.com, the service is often
times labeled as illegal. However the Russian site has contested
otherwise, and has yet to fall under any type of successful
prosecution in Russia.
Since AllofMP3.com has yet to be ruled illegal in Sweden or Denmark,
the actions by both ISPs drew enormous criticism from citizens,
journalists and copyright reform organizations such as the Swedish
Bureau of Piracy. Criticism was fueled when Perspektiv Bredband
admitted the action was a morally based decision - not a legal one.
"This kind of moral policing is an attack on the essence of what has
made internets such a wonderful arena for communication," said the
Bureau of Piracy. "Internet can be this vibrant space much thanks to
the stupidity of the infrastructure, it delivers data from A to B, no
questions asked. Configuration and intelligence is left to the end
users. Choosing what is transferred is up to you and me, not your ISP
nor the Chinese or your own government."
The Swedish Bureau of Piracy, in conjunction with its allies
ThePirateBay, used their considerable political pressure to fight
back. The organizations responded by blocking Perspektiv Bredband's
customers from accessing the overwhelmingly popular PirateBay
BitTorrent tracker.
ThePirateBay has become an Internet phenomenon, who's global
popularity is only surpassed by its popularity in Sweden. The threat
of an ISP losing a considerable percentage of its customer base,
coupled with an increasingly "pro-censorship" reputation, has forced
Perspektiv Bredband to reverse its decision.
In a press release issued today, Perspektiv Bredband has rescinded
its decision to block AllofMP3.com. Perspektiv Bredband cites that it
acted hastily, and did not consider its initial decision properly.
"We made a hasty decision and we withdrew from our mission. We are
sorry about this. Together with our new chairman of the board, the
management agrees that limiting Internet access is not within the
framework of our business, says Fredrik Winbladh, President of
Perspektiv Bredband.
-- Round 3: to AllofMP3 and P2P.
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