Baidu.com, China’s top search engine, has been reportedly sued by one of the leading music industry groups in the country for an alleged violation of copyright. According to a statement publicised by an official of the Music Copyright Society, Baidu.com offered ‘music listening, downloading and broadcasting services’ in several forms through its site without prior approval, earning huge ad revenue by leveraging its large number of hits. The statement has been posted on the China’s Music Copyright Society’s site.
Baidu is the country’s most popular search service - with over 60 per cent of the industry’s revenue share, according to estimates by Beijing-based research firm Analysys International. China arm of Google Inc comes second with mere 26 per cent, and China site of Yahoo Inc. is third with a share of 9.6 percent.
The copyright society stated Baidu made use of 50 songs in an illegal manner, demanding compensation for the same because the alleged piracy, according to it, made legitimate online music providers suffer losses and shut down. It has filed a lawsuit in a Beijing court. The International Federation of Phonographic Industries had already revealed that many music companies have sued the search engine for alleged illegal online copying. The companies include Hong Kong based Gold Label Entertainment Ltd., Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music, Warner Music Hong Kong Ltd.