CD Wow! Sued

The BPI and IRMA are sueing CD Wow! for copyright infringement.

CD Wow! sources its CDs from Hong Kong and the CDs are far cheaper than they are in the UK, with prices averaging £9 a CD including postage.

CD Wow! is accused of not contributing to the local economy, not paying VAT and violating copyright and trademarks under EU laws.

Hardly a day goes past when we hear that big businesses are sourcing from the Far East for manufacturing or staffing call centres, so when a consumer tries to do the same thing, the industry cries foul. There is one law for business, one for consumers. Remember, these CDs are legal copies and the artists and the industry are getting royalites from them.

Cheap imported CD's are legal in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In 1998 the Australians broke the music industries monopoly and allowed the import of legitimate copyrighted CDs. Universal Music and Warner were fined A$2,000,000 for anticompetitive behaviour and CDs now cost a lot less as a result.

Jersey based Play.com is the next victim of the monopolists.

We live in a global economy, and we all need to adapt and survive.