Music Companies Lose Suit Against Baidu.com in Beijing

Music Companies Lose Suit
Against Baidu.com in Beijing
By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER in Hong Kong and ANDREW BATSON in Beijing
November 18, 2006; Page A7

Leading Chinese Internet-search company Baidu.com Inc. won a lawsuit filed against it by a group of music companies over its MP3 search engine, the latest in the media industry's effort to win intellectual-property protection in China's courts.

The ruling, which was announced by the industry group and can still be appealed, wasn't available, so the judgment's exact basis wasn't clear. At issue was Baidu's practice of so-called deep linking to unlicensed songs stored on other Web sites. The music industry said that making music tracks available in this way, without the consent of owners, is a breach of copyright.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry filed the suit last year in Beijing on behalf of seven companies over the public-transmission rights of 195 recordings, which Baidu had made accessible to the public. A number of news reports have said the lawsuit sought damages of 1.67 million yuan, or about $212,000.

Both foreign and domestic copyright holders are increasingly turning to the Chinese court system for recourse against alleged infringements, including litigants who have gone after the landlords of DVD store owners. And while the physical piracy of goods like CDs and DVDs has long been the main concern of U.S. and European Union trade officials, online piracy is gaining increasing attention.

The IFPI said it plans to appeal the ruling. "I am amazed by this inexplicable judgment that is totally out of step with Chinese law and with court decisions made against similar services around the world," the IFPI's chairman and chief executive, John Kennedy, said.

The music industry has won similar cases against deep linking in the Netherlands, Norway and Australia.

A Baidu spokeswoman said the company won the case but declined to provide a copy of the ruling and had no further comment. The IFPI also didn't provide a copy of the judgment.

An attorney for Baidu, Li Decheng, said the company had won this round of the legal battle. "I agree with this first-instance judgment. But it's not the final judgment," he said. "If IFPI appeals, Baidu surely will respond."