James Delahunty
3 Apr 2014 18:07
Record labels are targeting the so called 'Facebook of Russia' with a legal case over alleged large-scale copyright infringement by the service.
The legal complaint has been made under the guidance of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) trade group, with Universal Music Group, Warner and Sony Music all filing a case.
VKontakte has been described as the 'Facebook of Russia', and it has been accused by the record companies of amassing a huge library of music that it does not have to rights to offer as part of its service. The goal is to get a Russian court to force MK to remove infringing files from its service.
"We have repeatedly highlighted this problem over a long period of time," said IFPI chief exec Frances Moore.
"We have encouraged VK to cease its infringements and negotiate with record companies to become a licensed service. To date the company has taken no meaningful steps to tackle the problem, so today legal proceedings are being commenced."
VK has been noted as a problematic service in the US Trade Representative's annual report for four consecutive years now.
Music groups claim that VK makes it impossible to setup legal services in Russia.
Sources and Recommended Reading:
VKontakte facing legal action from record labels: www.bbc.com/news