Visa and MasterCard Wrongly Disqualified Legal Online Music Service

Visa and MasterCard Wrongly Disqualified Legal Online Music Service

AllofMP3 Will Explore All Means, Including Legal Action, to Correct Discriminatory Act

MOSCOW, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Mediaservices today announced that the disqualification of the legal online music service, AllofMP3, by Visa International and MasterCard International (MA) was based on preconceived notions about the company and that the companies lack justification for the action.

"Visa and MasterCard should immediately re-qualify AllofMP3," said Vadim Mamotin, Director General. "There is no valid reason and absolutely no legal basis for the action."

A spokesperson from Visa stated, "The action Visa has taken is in line with legislation passed in Russia and with basic international copyright and intellectual property norms." Clearly, Visa has misinterpreted the new copyright laws because they do not require AllofMP3 to alter its business model. The new copyright laws do not prevent the online sale of music.

"MasterCard does not tolerate the use of its network for illegal activity," said a spokesperson for MasterCard. If that is the basis for the company's decision, MasterCard's decision makes absolutely no sense since the company is a lawful business enterprise.

The company believes the action taken by the world's largest payment processors is arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory because Visa and MasterCard lack the authority to adjudicate the legality of AllofMP3's activities and its determination that the company's activities were illegal is patently erroneous and without legal merit. AllofMP3 has not been found by any court in the world to be in violation of any law.

It is evident that Visa and MasterCard made the decision on factors other than legal grounds since the decision was not based on an adjudicated verdict by any court in the Russian Federation or, for that matter, anywhere in the world. To disqualify AllofMP3 based on a payment processing company's whim is irresponsible and sets a bad precedence.

AllofMP3 will pursue every course of action, including legal options, to reverse Visa's and MasterCard's decision.

Source: Mediaservices, Inc.

CONTACT: Rory Davenport of Qorvis Communications, +1-202-448-9292,
rdavenport@qorvis.com, for Mediaservices, Inc.

Web site: http://www.allofmp3.com/

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