DenisKvasov
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Case dismissed for AllofMP3 founder Kvasov
It looks like AllofMP3 founder Denis Kvasov will be evading any time in the gulag, at least for the moment. If you'll recall, EMI, Universal, and Warner Music filed suits against the highly dubious MP3-portal's founder after launching a whirlwind attack resulting in Mastercard and Visa pulling their services for the Russian-based site, and the eventual collapse of the pretty-much-illegal download service. The suit sought damages from the "entrepreneur" to the tune of 15 million rubles (about $590,700 US), but according to reports, a Cheryomushky District Court judge threw out the case against Kvasov, stating that a legal loophole allowing AllofMP3's particular kind of online music distribution continued through 2006 -- one year after Kvasov left the company. Of course, two more cases are pending against the mogul, so it seems likely we'll be hearing a lot more on this in the coming days and weeks.
AllofMP3's Denis Kvasov facing jail time
Here's a message for all the young ones out there: crime doesn't pay, not even for Russian semi-legal music semi-pirates. Or at least that's the way things are looking for Denis Kvasov, former owner of AllofMP3.com. Though the site was shut down earlier this month, Kvasov is still on the hook damages to EMI, Warner and Universal, to the tune of 15 million rubles ($590,715 US), and could face three years in jail as well. The amount seems a bit light, considering the RIAA's $750 to $30,000 per song demands here in the States, but legality of the AllofMP3 service is still in question, since under Russian law the site was ostensibly playing by the rules and paying "copyright fees" to all the right organizations. Of course, consumers don't have to look far to find Alltunes and MP3Sparks, virtual clones of AllofMP3, and Alltunes recently won a court case against a Russian agent of Visa that had cut off payments for the online store, so record labels have to be asking themselves how much progress they've really made in fighting this gray market hydra.
