Record industry's court case will not apply in download site's home country

Trade body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has been given permission by the UK High Court to proceed with its suit against AllofMP3.com, even though the company is based in Russia.

But a legal expert in Moscow said that even if the BPI did win its case the judgment would not apply in Russia.

"Russia doesn't have any agreement with the UK for implementing British court decisions so unless the Russian state really wishes to implement the decision it would not hold in Russia," said Andrei Mincov, an intellectual property attorney in Moscow for Baker & McKenzie. "Under the principle of reciprocity it could be, but that is not written law so if there is no demand from the top it will not be implemented."

The Russian site has been at the centre of legal controversy for some months. It claims to be a legitimate music download site with licences from collection agencies to sell the music it offers for as little as £1 per album. The music industry has argued that neither artists nor labels receive any revenue from these agencies for the downloads.

A UK court judgment could make it illegal to download music from the site, meaning that UK users will be acting illegally. But BPI General Counsel Roz Groome told a House of Commons Select Committee last month that it would not pursue users, it would just act against the company itself.

"We are going to seek a judgment not against the users of the site, but against the site itself," said Groome.

The industry body is now seeking that judgment against the site. "We have maintained all along that this site is illegal and that the operator of the site is breaking UK law by making sound recordings available to UK based customers without the permission of the copyright owners," said Groome on the news of the permission to proceed in court. "Now we will have the opportunity to demonstrate in the UK courts the illegality of this site."

The BPI would not comment on how it would enforce any judgment. One potential course of action is believed to be that the UK High Court negotiates with Russian prosecutors over the status of any UK judgment. Russia could simply agree to abide by a UK judgment, according to legal sources, "in the spirit of international friendliness".