Features
Baidu Settles Copyright
Top Chinese online search provider Baidu reached an agreement in late March with a local music copyright association to compensate songwriters who belong to the Music Copyright Society of China whenever users download or stream a song to the provider’s website.
Financial terms were not disclosed, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Major record companies, however, don’t seem to get much from the news, since money will only be paid to songwriters – or lyricists, to be exact.
Earlier, Baidu said it removed about 2.8 million files from its document-sharing website Baidu Wenku (Library) after Chinese writers accused Baidu of distributing their work without permission.
They also demanded compensation through a petition issued March 15 that stated the company had “deteriorated into a thievery organization that stole our property and our rights.”
Baidu apologized and said it would shut down Wenku if violations persisted.