The US wants Russia to know that it"s really, truly, absolutely serious like a heart attack about putting an end to AllOfMP3.com. How else to explain the recent raft of references (try saying that three times fast) to the site by the highest trade officials in the US government?
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab yesterday told reporters, "I have a hard time imagining Russia becoming a member of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and having a Web site like that up and running that is so clearly a violation of everyone"s intellectual property rights."
Schwab has been making the rounds with this kind of talk. Last week, she told the US Chamber of Commerce (PDF) last week that "at the top of the "notorious markets" list is Russia"s allofmp3.com, the Web"s number one pay-per-download music site whose catalog consists of illegal copies of music from U.S. recording artists and other right holders." Schwab told the Chamber that Russia"s WTO membership hinges on the fate of AllOfMP3.com.