The firm also said that it wants to work with labels to create a
legal music download service on its site, and that it has not
broken any laws.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)
said this week that it had begun legal proceedings against Yahoo!
China for breach of its members' copyright. Any case will claim
that Yahoo! China breaks the law by providing links to sites which
contain unlicensed music for download.
But Yahoo! China has not even been told of the case. "We have
read the press reports, but have not been informed of any such
lawsuit being filed," Yahoo! China spokesman Bruce Shu told
OUT-LAW.
The IFPI had previously said that work on the case had already
begun. "IFPI is taking the preliminary steps required by Chinese
law for filing a lawsuit," said a statement from the lobby group
earlier this week.
"Yahoo! China has been blatantly infringing our members’
rights," IFPI chief executive John Kennedy said in that statement.
"We have started the process and as far as we're concerned we're on
the track to litigation. If negotiation can prevent that, so be
it."
Yahoo! China says that it has not broken any laws. "What I can
say in general is that Yahoo! China's current practices comply with
the relevant laws," said Shu.
The company also revealed that it is planning a legal music
download service, and wants the record labels to co-operate. "The
company is looking for ways to work with the major record labels to
develop a licensed music download service," said Shu.
Yahoo! China is owned by Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce
company. Yahoo! Inc signed the brand name over last year when it
also bought 40% of Alibaba for $1 billion.
Speaking at the China International Forum on the Audio Visual
Industry in Shanghai in June, IFPI's Kennedy said that 90% of
recordings in China infringe copyright, and that the illegal music
market there is worth £216 million.
The IFPI said that it was Chinese copyright law which was being
infringed. "Yahoo China is infringing IFPI members' rights by
facilitating the streaming and downloading of copyrighted music
without authorisation of the copyright holders. These are
activities over which IFPI's members have exclusive rights in China
and elsewhere," said a statement.
"These rights are provided under the Chinese copyright law, by
judicial interpretations of the law and by the State Council
Regulations on the protection of right of communication over
information networks," said the body.
