Despite being found not guilty in a previous case, China’s most used Internet search site Baidu is in legal trouble again.
Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group have all sued the site again over illegal music downloads, deeming it a winnable cause after last month’s ruling against Yahoo China. The companies are being represented by the IFPI which noted that the record companies had also sued Sohu.com, China’s third largest Internet portal.
The IFPI has stated that China’s market of legally distributed music files is a minuscule $76 million USD, less than 1 percent of the global market.
“It’s a matter of great regret that, despite the clear precedent laid down by the Yahoo China judgment, those Internet companies are instead choosing blatant violation of copyright” and the litigation that accompanies it, said John Kennedy, CEO of the IFPI.
Result for: internet
After a multi-billion dollar failed experiment, Time Warner has made moves to rid itself of the still profitable, but quickly dying AOL dial-up internet division.
The company plans to keep AOL’s Web-portal and advertising sectors and only sell its dial up internet access division which has been losing subscribers at an exponential rate. Time Warner’s new CEO Jeff Bewkes had this to say at a recent conference call. “This should significantly increase AOL’s strategic options,” he said. It is notable to mention that at its peak in 2002 AOL had 30 million paying subscribers. It now has 10 million.
AOL has now been ramping up its advertising business but it still lagging behind the industry. For the Q4 2007, ad revenue for the company grew 18 percent while the industry averaged propelled ahead by 25 percent.
The separation of AOL from Time Warner’s growing content business should allow the company to focus on stronger, more profitable businesses. A rival executive noted that Time Warner has wasted billions of dollars trying to find the Right business model for AOL. “Follow the money. Platforms, not content businesses, are where the money has been made on the internet,” he added.
I’m sure Time Warner share holders can vouch for that last statement.
Result for: internet
The ESA(Entertainment Software Association) had filed a new Special 301 Report with the US Trade Representative which shows the growing struggles for growth in the international video game industry thanks to ever increasing piracy.
The report specifically mentions a few countries where piracy is highest, notably Canada, China, Malaysia, Russia and eastern Europe.
Michael Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, explained, “Countries that support computer and video game piracy discourage publishers from establishing viable and legitimate markets. The Special 301 process sends a strong message to them to clean up their act to avoid damaging trade sanctions.”
The ESA even went on to say that in some of the areas listed, piracy exceeded 80 to 90 percent. These included areas in southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America. The ESA defines “piracy” as any “factory production of optical discs (such as CDs and DVDs); CD-R and DVD-R ‘burning’; cartridge counterfeiting; Internet downloading and file trading; as well as Internet cafe piracy.”
The report acknowledges that there are no short term fixes for the major problem areas but hopes that progress can be made in less problem areas such as Canada.
“This year our Special 301 filing highlights countries that urgently need to begin backing up their commitment to creativity and innovation,” added Gallagher.
“We look forward to working with USTR and other supporting government agencies to achieve tangible results and hopefully succeed in lowering piracy in these key countries.”
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