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Chinese Court Rule Out Search Company`s Contribution to Piracy

Legal battles over copyrighted content reached Chinese courts when the internet search company Baidu was sued for helping users to download illegal content. The company was exonerated from all charges by the courts in China which decided that Baidu did not assist in the download process. This will not be the end of the story for Baidu, as the International Federation of Phonographic Industry plans to appeal the verdict. According to the International Federation of Phonographic Industry, more than 85 percent of all music consumed in China originates in piracy.

The group also targets Yahoo China`s search engine for listing sites that contain unlicensed music. Although Chinese authorities ruled that such conduct does not mean that a search engine is helping users to consume illegal content, the group is not willing to let things pass. The issue of pirated content, especially in China, is a growing concern for media companies in the United States and the rest of the world. The means of finding copyrighted material on the web are getting easier by the day, and people are constantly downloading music.

The music industry has tried to stop the phenomenon on several occasions, but a part from stopping specific companies from offering copyrighted content, they were unable to stop users from downloading what ever they like. Until an alternative solution will be suggested, the battles over protected content on the web will continue.