Music Labels Are In Mediation With Baidu Over Alleged Copyright Violations

Baidu.com is back in court in China over copyright violation allegations. This time four major record companies — Universal, EMI, Warner, Sony BMG — and their Chinese affiliates are claiming China’s largest search engine made it easy for music to be downloaded illegally. They’re asking for $206,000 in compensation for 137 songs and that Baidu not provide online displays or download services. Under Chinese law, if the case isn’t resolved by mediation, a judge will do it for them. Baidu lost the first case when a judge ordered it pay a Chinese music company for unauthorized downloads.
According to China Daily, Baidu said during the first five hours of hearings that it was willing to work towards new business models for legal downloads, that it is a neutral search engine providing a basic service and doesn’t provide upload or downloads, and that it “promises to provide relief and protection if a company can prove it owns the right to a song.”
Chinese web portal Netease shut off MP3 search recently over similar complaints; its primary business is online gambling and it could afford the change. But China Daily reports that MP3 downloads account for 22 percent of Baidu’s traffic, making it a core business that can’t be abandoned.

Comments have been disabled for this post