KIEV (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Ukrainian court has upheld a judgment against the copyright infringing music website mp3.ua. The verdict obliges the site’s operators, Internet Media File Ltd., to pay over US$70,000 in damages and an injunction granted against them will now enter into force.
The Kiev Court of Appeal rejected Internet Media File’s objections to an earlier verdict from the Kiev Economic Tribunal confirming the injunction granted to IFPI member company HonestMusic, which prohibits mp3.ua from making any of its tracks available without authorisation. The verdict also enables the company to seize Internet Media File Ltd’s assets to secure the payment of damages if necessary.
The damages were granted because 36 of the tracks HonestMusic owns the rights to were made available without their permission and downloaded by internet users from mp3.ua.
This verdict sets a precedent against Ukrainian websites that try to replicate the business model of Russian site allofmp3.com, which sells music without any permission from artists, composers or record producers. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
