VKontakte (VK), the leading social network in Russia and a property of LSE-listed Mail.ru Group, has won a legal battle against Universal Music and Warner Music. In two verdicts handed down on March 2 and 3, the Saint Petersburg & Leningradsky Region Appeal Court overturned an earlier ruling that VK must implement effective technology to stop infringements on its service.
Universal Music’s suit demanded that VKontakte remove from its website pirated copies of songs by the musicians Roma Kenga and Natalia Gordienko. Universal Music also asked for 15.6 million rubles ($211,500) in compensation, and wanted Vkontakte to develop a system to ensure that pirated music doesn’t reappear on the website in the future, as reported by Russian business daily RBC.
“These are disappointing judgments which are out of step with rulings both in Russia and around the world, and leave Russia as one of the very few significant music markets in the world that is dominated by a single unlicensed service,” said Frances Moore of industry association IFPI, as reported by Music Business Worldwide.
The majors have vowed to file appeals in the copyright infringement cases.
A long-running copyright battle
Even as Russia was putting together its August 2013 anti-piracy law – focusing essentially on video content – VKontakte kept potentially litigious tracks on its website. Just over a month ahead of the adoption of the law the social network stated that “nobody can ban others from listening to something.”
However, VKontakte also made moves to mollify international concern over piracy. Thus in July 2013 the company entered talks with Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music, which had previously filed lawsuits charging the website with copyright infringement.
However, VK’s efforts to adhere to copyright legislation have fallen far short of compliance in the eyes of copyright owners, with US industry associations and government authorities still condemning VK’s policy until recently. In the spring of 2014, the three majors filed a new lawsuit against Vkontakte. Together, they sought 51 million rubles (around $1.5 million at that time) in compensation.
In July 2015, Vkontakte and Sony Music Russia reached an undisclosed settlement. The Russian media reported that the agreement provided for guaranteed payments to copyright holders, and a profit-sharing arrangement.
Other lawsuits have been filed over the past few years with various outcomes.
(Updated on March 3)
