Yahoo! Found Guilty of Mass Copyright Infringement
Written by enigmax on December 20, 2007It is being reported by the IPFI that Yahoo China’s music search feature violates the law when it deep links users to pirated music. Yahoo China’s music search has been confirmed illegal in a Beijing court ruling which states that under new copyright laws it facilitates mass copyright infringement.
After being hounded by the IFPI since April 2006, Yahoo! China - partly owned by one the world’s most prominent internet businesses, Yahoo! - today had its music search (via deep linking) deemed illegal by a Beijing Court, who said the service violates Chinese law by facilitating mass copyright infringement.
Yahoo! China had appealed against the guilty verdict reached in the case in April, but this was today dismissed by the Court.
In an earlier case it was decided that another company, Baidu, also facilitated copyright infringement when it used similar methods to Yahoo!, but under Chinese laws in operation at the time they had committed no offense. However, new copyright laws came into force in 2006 and it was under these that Yahoo! China was found guilty, as explained by John Kennedy, Chairman and CEO of the IFPI:
“We are disappointed that the court did not find Baidu liable, but that judgment was about Baidu’s actions in the past under an old law that is no longer in force.”
The IFPI say that when sites like Yahoo! and Baidu - or even Google - deep-link “to hundreds of thousands of pirate tracks” they are “a huge drain on efforts to develop a legitimate music market in China.”
According to IFPI statistics, music sales in China were just $76 million in 2006, with 99% of all music downloading done in a way that infringes copyright.
They also claim that Yahoo! China and Baidu “account for the bulk of the problem” so presumably now that both site’s searches are going to disappear, Chinese internet piracy will virtually end over night. That’s China sorted, then. Next stop, Russia.
John Kennedy said: “The ruling against Yahoo! China is extremely significant in clarifying copyright rules for internet music services in China. By confirming that Yahoo! China’s service violates copyright under new Chinese laws, the Beijing Court has effectively set the standard for internet companies throughout the country.”
“Our member companies seek partnership, not conflict, with China’s internet companies” he said, presumably as he decides who to take action against next.
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52 Responses
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They also claim that Yahoo China and Baidu “account for the bulk of the problem” so presumably now that both site’s searches are gone, Chinese internet piracy will virtually end over night.
hahahahaha, presumably… hahaha i like that word.
Hah yeah you GOT EM IFPI! Your sales should be going up any second now…
lol
Says who?
Google News has exactly one mention of this being reported and that’s this article by TorrentFreak.
The IFPI say that when sites like Yahoo! and Baidu - or even Google - deep-link “to hundreds of thousands of pirate tracks” they are “a huge drain on efforts to develop a legitimate music market in China.”
‘Cause the Chinese want to listen to cat-screeches, deep down, and NOT popular well-recorded pop music from the west. Yeah, Yahoo!’s holding them back.
[quote comment="243731"]Google News has exactly one mention of this being reported and that’s this article by TorrentFreak.[/quote]
What can I say? We work quickly ;)
[quote comment="243742"][quote comment="243731"]Google News has exactly one mention of this being reported and that’s this article by TorrentFreak.[/quote]
What can I say? We work quickly ;)[/quote]
Hell yeah thats why I like Torrentfreak, pwnage.
Yeah, give it time, the fact that it’s not on major news sites does not tell me anything except they need a day or two to understand technology in order to write the articles.
Also, HA! they admit that google and yahoo list pirate tracks, a good thing considering many would never think of shutting them down but somehow see bittorrent trackers that also link to pirate material (and a torrent is even more indirect) as illegal.
Its great, next step:
The US ->
> Google
> Yahoo! US
> etc, etc…
Let them feel it! It will become legal soon enough to indes files without finding the MPAA or RIAA on your doorstep. (even torrent files)
Um, #8,I’m confused. Could you explain how this is in any way “great”? What you wrote makes no sense to me unless it is some strange form of sarcasm.
Same here… :P
mass media criminal gangs… when will someone bother to exterminate them?
y’all DO work quickly though and we love you for it.
“According to IFPI statistics, music sales in China were just $76 million in 2006, with 99% of all music downloading done in a way that infringes copyright.”
Yeah because we all know the IFPI has the most reliable stats, not fudged at all.
9: What he means, is that they’ll obviously loose if they go against Google, and they will therefore estabelish a precedent, wherein it is legal to merely index torrent files.
They are some sick fuckers!
I think we should split up torrent files even more, making users have to do more then just download and go, still make it easy, yet throw a curve ball at the law.
So the IFPI criminals are at it again.
IFPI is illegal and the law should reflect that.
It’s about time these criminal organisations IFPI, RIAA, CRIA etc. be brought to justice.
These companies are involved in illegal activities.
I now own the term “Life Sux”
Anyone found using that term will be sued. Thank you.
Life Sux © 2007
#14, very well written.
#16 Do you mean like a part 1 torrent and a part 2 torrent for the same movie? That is a good idea, i wouldn’t like the inconvenience, but how will they ever contact your ISP and say “we have record of your user downloading every other 14MB of a movie” (i’m assuming they are in .rar files). That would be pretty funny.
[quote comment="243911"]I think we should split up torrent files even more, making users have to do more then just download and go, still make it easy, yet throw a curve ball at the law.[/quote]
What if we rebuild the BitTorrent meta file specification to point to indexes that point to ip tables that point to people who have parts of each file (but never the whole file)?
what does “– even Google –” mean? Are you suggesting that their methods are somehow different? Or that they are a golden child some expect to avoid this issue due to their glow? Or just that they have yet to be sued but are probably next? There is implied meaning in your grammar choice that I can’t parse.
Thanks,
Nate
I think the answer to that is… purple.
Good news to hear
maybee once they own everything, dictate what we do on a minute to minute basis, decide what we wear, what we eat, who we marry, what color our hair can be, what race is the only one legally able to be alive on planet earth…..
such a sad world we are heading to..
props on your speed TF.
another thing, all the copyright bullshit is comming from america….
since when does china care about what the americans want?
hey how come the guy spamming his “paidandpopular” blog hasn’t commented yet???
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