Cloud storage providers said on Wednesday that they are using various technologies to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) in response to the country's call for regulating the nascent industry.
The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) held a meeting on Tuesday aimed at expanding regulation of the cloud storage industry.
Representatives from major cloud storage providers including Baidu Inc, Qihoo 360 Technology Co, Kingsoft Co, Sina Corp, Xunlei and Huawei Technologies Co took part in the meeting, and they agreed to obey the regulations to strike at piracy and protect IPR, according to a report posted on the NCAC's website on Tuesday.
Internet companies such as Baidu and Qihoo 360 have developed cloud storage platforms where users can share files.
Cloud storage provider yun.baidu uses several methods, including manual scrutiny, to audit the content that is publicly shared by users, a Baidu spokesperson who preferred to be unnamed told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Also, yun.baidu has a comprehensive 24/7 complaint-resolution mechanism. Yun.baidu has been in operation for three years, with the number of users rising to 300 million, said the spokesperson.
Qihoo 360 told the Global Times on Wednesday that it has used a series of technologies to strengthen IPR protection.
Many users disseminated pirated content through storage platforms during this year, and the problem has become more serious, according to the NCAC on Tuesday.
The NCAC released a statement on October 14 to clarify the obligations and responsibilities of cloud storage providers.
Cloud storage technology "has also emerged as a threat to IPR," Chang Yachun, a lawyer specializing in the issue at Beijing Kangda Law Firm, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"If users share pirated files through storage platforms, it's illegal," Chang said.
