Russian court orders VK to stop infringement
Russian social network vKontakte (VK) has been ordered by a Russian court to use effective technology to prevent infringement of the recordings of two record companies.
The ruling, handed down in the Saint Petersburg & Leningradsky Region Arbitration Court on Monday, is a significant judgment which, when implemented, should improve the environment for developing a thriving licensed music business in Russia.
Universal Music and Warner Music had brought copyright infringement cases against VK in April 2014. The judge issued an oral decision on 28th September, and the full judgments will be handed down in due course.
The court granted the record companies' request to require VK to use effective technology to prevent the upload of their sound recordings to its service, meaning that VK must remove the record companies' recordings and prevent them from being uploaded again in the future.
IFPI Chief Executive Officer Frances Moore welcomed the judgment: "This is a very important and positive decision for the Russian music market and for music creators in Russia. VK’s infringing music service has been a huge obstacle to the development of a licensed business in Russia, making available hundreds of thousands of copyright infringing tracks to more than 70 million daily users. Now, the Russian court has ordered VK to use technology to stop infringements. This is good news for rights holders in Russia. We now look to VK to implement the court’s decision and stop these ongoing infringements."
Contacts for further information:
Elena Terrova, Mikhailov and Partners
+7 926 766 0438 / +7 (495) 956 39 72 ext. 1160
terrova@m-p.ru
Adrian Strain or Daniel Friedlaender, IFPI
Email: Adrian.Strain@ifpi.org / Daniel.Friedlaender@ifpi.org
Tel: +44 (0)20 7878 7939 / +32 (0)2 511 9208
