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Print articleChina: Music Companies Against Baidu.com
January, 2007 -
On 17 November 2006, the Beijing First Intermediate Court rejected the copyright infringement claim made by seven music companies, namely Sony BMG, Warner, EMI, Universal, Gold Label, Go East and Cinepoly, against NASDAQ-listed Baidu.com. The music companies which owned the copyright, alleged that the MP3 search service of Baidu.com allowed users to freely download 137 songs and sought an injunction as well as damages in the amount of RMB1,690,000. The Beijing First Intermediate Court ruled against the music companies. According to media reports, the court found that the Internet search engines were merely assisting users to locate desired information on the Internet.
The MP3 search engine service provided by Baidu.com functions by targeting files on the Internet that are in audio format, and the scope of its search extends to every website on the Internet, the access to which has not been prohibited. The contents of the search are therefore derived from and under the control of the websites which uploaded the audio files, and the court ruled that in no way can the search engine anticipate, differentiate and control the legality of the search results. This ruling is in stark contrast to the previous decision of the Haidian District People’s Court on a similar action by another PRC music company also against Baidu.com back in September 2006. There, the court found that Baidu.com exploited the songs directly for its own profit by having a list of songs on its website and placing advertisements next to such list. The music companies are expected to appeal against the ruling.
The MP3 search engine service provided by Baidu.com functions by targeting files on the Internet that are in audio format, and the scope of its search extends to every website on the Internet, the access to which has not been prohibited. The contents of the search are therefore derived from and under the control of the websites which uploaded the audio files, and the court ruled that in no way can the search engine anticipate, differentiate and control the legality of the search results. This ruling is in stark contrast to the previous decision of the Haidian District People’s Court on a similar action by another PRC music company also against Baidu.com back in September 2006. There, the court found that Baidu.com exploited the songs directly for its own profit by having a list of songs on its website and placing advertisements next to such list. The music companies are expected to appeal against the ruling.
