Baidu ordered to pay $80,000 for copyright violation

Baidu Inc, China's largest search engine, was found guilty of copyright violation and ordered to pay 491,000 yuan ($80,000) to a leading online video provider, said media reports on Tuesday.

Beijing Haidian District People's Court ordered Baidu to pay Youku Tudou Inc for infringing copyright concerning 18 TV dramas and various other video content.

The ruling against Baidu, announced by the court last week, is part of a group lawsuit. In mid-November, several of China's major online video providers, including Youku Tudou, Sohu Video, Tencent Video and LeTV launched a joint campaign and filed a lawsuit against Baidu and tech firm QVOD Technology for copyright violation.

The alliance of online video providers alleged that Baidu and QVOD's media players and mobile handset applications had illegally played their copyrighted content by using an automated process, and links to pirated content are also available.

The group is suing Baidu for compensation of 300 million yuan for losses caused by the company's practices.