Youku Tudou wins copyright infringement cases against Baidu

Chinese online video site Youku Tudou has won several copyright infringement cases it filed against Chinese search giant Baidu.

Baidu was found guilty of copyright infringement last Friday by a court in Beijing. It was ordered to pay 491,000 yuan ($101,107) for illegally hosting 18 Chinese television shows that Youku Tudou bought exclusive rights to. Since October, Youku Tudou has 32 filed cases against Baidu for infringing its copyright. The rest are awaiting verdict.

Youku Tudou's Chief Content Officer Mr Sunny Zhu mentioned the win during his keynote speech at the Asia TV Forum and Market on Tuesday.

"This shows respect to intellectual property and protection of law-abiding companies," Mr Zhu told The Straits Times on the sidelines of the forum, which runs at the Marina Bay Sands till Dec 6.

Youku Tudou has also joined forces with Chinese online video services and foreign entities to form an anti-piracy alliance. The members include Chinese sites like Sohu, Tencent and foreign entities such as the Motion Picture Association of America among many. Collectively, the alliance sued Baidu for copyrights infringement of thousands of pieces of material and causing millions of yuan in losses.

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