• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechCopyright

This Social Network Just Won Two Piracy Cases Against Major Labels

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 4, 2016, 10:44 AM ET
Page and portrait of Pavel Durov, the founder of Vkontakte social network
MOSCOW, RUSSIA. DECEMBER, 2011. Page and portrait of Pavel Durov, the founder of Vkontakte social network. (Photo by: Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images)Photograph by Getty Images

Warner Music and Universal Music have both lost cases against the Russian social network Vkontakte in which they tried to get the company to pay them for copyright infringements on its platform.

Vkontakte beat Universal on Wednesday and Warner on Thursday in the arbitration court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad. According to local reports, Universal was after around $212,500 and Warner wanted $278,000 in damages, while both wanted Vkontakte to delete pirated tracks from its platform.

The court overturned a ruling from last September that said Vkontakte had to install anti-piracy filtering mechanisms such as audio fingerprinting on its platform. It also upheld the other part of that ruling, which said Vkontakte was not itself responsible for what people upload onto it.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Sony had originally been involved in the case alongside Universal and Warner, but settled with Vkontakte last year.

IFPI, the music rights-holder group, said the judgements were disappointing and “out of step with rulings both in Russia and around the world.” The group will appeal the rulings.

Vkontakte is Russia’s biggest social network, with over 80 million active monthly users. These days controlled by Kremlin allies, it was founded by Pavel Durov, better known now as the man behind the Telegram “secure” messaging service.

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

A screen displays the Grok logo while a person holds another phone in front.
AIX
Elon Musk restricts Grok’s image tools following a wave of non-consensual deepfakes of women and children
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 9, 2026
8 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Andreessen Horowitz’s shiny, new $15 billion reveals where the firm sees the biggest opportunities
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 9, 2026
9 hours ago
Chinese and U.S. flags wave outside a technology company in Beijing, on April 17, 2025. (Photo: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
‘Salt Typhoon’ hackers accessed email of U.S. congressional committee staff
By Andrew NuscaJanuary 9, 2026
9 hours ago
AsiaSingapore
Singapore-based startup founder Anand Roy thinks generative AI can help fix a broken music sector
By Angelica AngJanuary 8, 2026
18 hours ago
Brown
CybersecuritySocial Media
Mass shootings on campus give rise to a new kind of life-saving service journalism: an anonymous message board called Sidechat
By Leah Willingham and The Associated PressJanuary 8, 2026
21 hours ago
PoliticsDefense
Founder of $30 billion defense tech company Anduril embraces Trump’s threat to crack down: It’s ‘good to scare people sometimes’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 8, 2026
23 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
By Emma BurleighJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Workplace Culture
Amazon demands proof of productivity from employees, asking for list of accomplishments
By Jake AngeloJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Law
Amazon is cutting checks to millions of customers as part of a $2.5 billion FTC settlement. Here's who qualifies and how to get paid
By Sydney LakeJanuary 6, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Google billionaire Larry Page copies the Jeff Bezos playbook, buying a $173 million Miami compound that will save him millions in taxes
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 8, 2026
24 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Crypto
Russia and Iran are increasingly turning to crypto—especially stablecoins—to avoid sanctions, report finds
By Carlos GarciaJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Bill Gates warns the world is going 'backwards' and gives 5-year deadline before we enter a new Dark Age
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 9, 2026
6 hours ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.