An online retailer which sold cheap, imported chart CDs for as little as £6.99 faces a fine running into millions of pounds after being found in contempt of court yesterday.

 

Music Trading Online broke a legally-binding agreement in 2004 not to sell 'parallel imports' on its CD-WOW website, a High Court judge ruled.

 

CDs by artists such as Radiohead, Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol and Oasis were genuine imports from the Far East – but selling them in Britain broke copyright laws.

 

The ruling is a victory for record labels such as EMI, Mercury, Warner and Sony, as well as trade organisations including the British Phonographic Industry.

 

The judge, Mr Justice Evans-Lombe, rejected a defence claim that the sales were the result of 'mere inadvertence' on the part of CD-WOW.

 

Music Trading called the judgment 'CD Woe' and said it was disaster for music fans who 'object to being ripped off' by unnecessarily expensive albums.

 

Any breaches of its court undertaking were caused by 'human error', it added, blaming a 'protectionist policy' by the record industry.

 

The website's founder, Henrik Wessien, said: 'At a time when the record industry is losing vast revenue to piracy, it seems ludicrous that it can set out to destroy a section of the market that is actually making it money.'

 

The BPI said the court had delivered a clear message that importing music CDs and DVDs from outside Europe without consent was a breach of copyright.

 

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=41964&in_page_id=34

The BPI once more proving they are trying to protect an unworkable outdated business model.

 

CD Wow was giving them money, true not as much as say HMV, but in a time when people are downloading albums giving the record label nothing, it's stupid

As usual, the music industry's biting the hand that feeds it. Even if that hand is putting it on a diet,lol.