Russian musician protects his intellectual property rights

The leader of the popular Russian rock group "Leningrad", Sergei Shnurov, has won the case of intellectual property rights violation. The court has ruled that S.B.A. Music Publishing, a subsidiary of the Gala Records company, pay 100,000 rubles to Sergei Shnurov for violating his intellectual property rights by issuing a permission for mobile phone companies to use Shnurov's music for mobile phones and karaoke, Gazeta reports.

Without the musician's consent, S.B.A. concluded contracts with companies cooperating with mobile phone operators and gave them the right to adapt compositions of the "Leningrad" leader for mobile phone melodies. The record company thereby rudely violated the law On Copyright and Relevant Rights.

One Russian mobile phone operator, Beeline, alone downloaded $90,000 worth of Shnurov's songs in early 2000-February 2004.

Shnurov estimated his losses at $40,000, but the Basmanny Court of Moscow found this figure too high and ruled to pay him a far less impressive sum. The musician, however, was not upset. The main thing, he thinks, is that now Russian recording companies will be more careful about adapting other people's music.