Editorial Summary

Hangzhou-based online digital music provider 5fad.com filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on June 10. In response to the lawsuit, Baidu sent a letter to qq.com explaining that 5fad.com has unsuccessfully sued Baidu five times for MP3 infringement, making this the sixth legal showdown. According to the note, 5fad sued Baidu four times in 2006 with two of the cases withdrawn by 5fad, one of the cases thrown out by the Zhejiang Higher Court and a fourth case being ruled in favor of Baidu in the Beijing Higher People's Court.

Baidu is currently being sued by Universal Music Ltd, Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Hong Kong) Ltd and Warner Music Hong Kong Ltd. in the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, while the Music Copyright Society of China (MCSC) sued Baidu for RMB1.06 million in the Beijing Haidian District People's Court on January 17.