San Francisco - Russian prosecutors are targeting Denis Kvasov, former owner of controversial MP3 store AllofMP3.com, with copyright infringement charges that would include jail time, according to published reports.

CNET News.com cited a report in the German newspaper Deutsche Presseagentur, which said prosecutors are seeking $595,000 in damages to be paid to major labels EMI, Warner and Universal, and three years in prison for Kvasov.

AllofMP3.com, which offered much cheaper downloads and claimed it was licensed through Russian copyright societies -- a fact disputed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) -- recently shuttered, after pressure from the U.S. Trade Representative.

However, days after the site's closure, a new Russian site purportedly run by the owners of AllofMP3.com -- MP3Sparks.com -- sprung up offering basically the same discounted catalog as AllofMP3.com.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2dvvcy (CNET)

http://www.mp3sparks.com