Music without permission: how Tatarstan businesses fell under Russian Authors’ Society’s radar
Entrepreneurs face multi-thousand fines for background melodies
The Russian Authors’ Society has unleashed a wave of lawsuits on Tatarstan businesses: eight entrepreneurs have received claims totalling 1.2 million rubles for using music in their establishments. Among the defendants are restaurateurs, shop owners, and beauty salon operators. The largest fine, 240,000 rubles, was imposed on the owner of a hookah lounge in Kazan. Read the details in the Realnoe Vremya report.
Want to play music — pay up
Recently, eight Tatarstan entrepreneurs received lawsuits from the Russian Authors’ Society (RAO) totalling 1.2 million rubles. Among them were restaurateurs, retail representatives, and beauty industry players. Each received a “good luck letter” from the Arbitration Court of Tatarstan. The court registered claims concerning the “protection of intellectual property.” Simply put — for playing music without permission.
The lawsuit with the largest claim — 240,000 rubles — was filed against Elchin Abdullaev. According to the SPARK-Interfax system, he is the founder of Buddu PLC, which operates in Kazan at 6 Tazi Gizzat Street. This address is home to the Budda Lounge hookah bar.
In an interview with Realnoe Vremya, Abdullaev said he plans to review the case materials with his lawyer before commenting.
Another representative of the hospitality sector is the café “Beluga,” serving Azerbaijani and European cuisine, located near Kazan’s River Port. In this case, the claim amounts to 100,000 rubles. The third in this category is sole proprietor Raushaniya Khusainova, facing a lawsuit for 200,000 rubles. Presumably, this concerns the establishment KorolPizza on Baumana Street.
Nurislam Sharifullin, a restaurateur from Kazan, previously shared an unusual situation surrounding the organisation of children's events in the city's restaurants. The story began with a simple request: parents asked for an animator dressed as a bear, accompanied by a music speaker. It turned out that an employee of the Russian Authors' Society (RAO) was present in the hall, recording the event on camera. Later, the restaurant received a demand to sign a licensing agreement with the organisation or pay compensation of 600,000 rubles for copyright infringement related to the music playing from the animator's speaker.
If you sign an agreement with RAO — the lawsuit is withdrawn
Another lawsuit was filed against Mintimer Nugmanov — former chairman of the Committee on Children and Youth Affairs of the Kazan executive committee, and now founder of the café Nashe Mesto. The amount of the claim against his company totals 100,000 rubles.
Lawsuits amounting to 100,000 rubles each were also filed against individual entrepreneur Dmitry Morozov, engaged in retail trade in Sarmanovo; individual entrepreneur Rishat Mingazov, who sells clothing in Kazan; and individual entrepreneur Dinara Alexeyeva, who sells toys and other children's goods in Naberezhnye Chelny.