Baidu Inc, China's top search engine, has been found guilty of copyright infringement and ordered to pay compensation to a popular literary website, the Shanghai Daily reported on Thursday.
The Luwan District People's Court has ordered Baidu to pay Qidian.com about 550,000 yuan ($84,722) for infringing its copyright for five novels, the paper said. "Baidu indirectly infringed on the copyrights of Shanda Literature as it did not remove unauthorised literary works from its website immediately after being informed by Shanda," read the verdict.
China's copyright law states that violators have to pay the amount of money equal to losses suffered by the copyright owner or profits the offender gained through illegal actions, with a maximum set at 500,000 yuan, the paper said. Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo confirmed in state news agency Xinhua and AFP that the company has appealed the ruling but did not elaborate.
In March, Baidu has been accused by 40 Chinese authors for providing their literary pieces in Baidu's online library without their permission. In February, the Trade Representative from the US named Baidu as part of a list of "notorious" markets openly selling or enabling the sale of counterfeit or pirated goods.
Source: OfficialWire