ROMS Interview
February 21, 2004
The controversial services Allofmp3 and MP3search have been licensed by ROMS, the Russian Organization for Multimedia and digital Systems.
Roman Bahanets, assistant to the lawyer of ROMS, answered our questions about the legal music services in Russia.
Museekster: The number one question for everyone that hears of Allofmp3 and MP3search is: "Are these really legal services". Can your clarify the situation on copyrights in Russia?
Roms: Yes, the sites you mentioned conduct their business legally and are licensed by ROMS, in full accordance with Russian and international law.
Museekster: Are artists compensated for the downloads and how does this work in Russia?
Roms: ROMS collects royalties in case of usage of copyrights and pays them out to copyright holders, aside from some commissions.
Museekster: Can you tell something about your organization and your relations with international copyright organizations?
Roms: The creation of ROMS is based on Russian and international experience and practices (SECAM in France, CMMV in Germany, Multimedia Copyright Center in Switzerland, specialized organizations in Great Britain, Spain, Sweden, etc.), as well as on integration processes in the field, occurring on the international level. Our organization interacts with all international organizations in the field of intellectual property.
Museekster: Is there a way people can check if a Russian music service is legal?
Roms: To check the legality of a Russian music site, you need to look onto a section of the site with the appropriate information. If there is a citation of ROMS - it is legal. If not, and the site is not an official site of an artist or group, - it is probably an illegal site that violates copyrights. Shortly, a section that allows you to check the legality of Russian web resources will be developed on www.roms.ru.
Museekster: Can we expect more Music Services in Russia the coming year?
Roms: We make great efforts to ensure that more legal music appears in the Russian segment of the web.
We thank Roman Bahanets for taking time to answer our questions.
More information about ROMS and copyrights in Russia is available at www.roms.ru. We recently received this press release from ROMS that explains more on how ROMS operates.