Video sharing site's license revoked for copyright infringement

The license of value-added telecom service of Chinese video sharing site QVOD has been revoked over copyright infringement, the Guangdong provincial telecommunications administration said Saturday.

Shenzhen QVOD Technology Co., Ltd. can no longer be engaged in telecom service after the withdrawal of its license, the administration said.

According to the administration, QVOD has violated regulations of telecom service management. The company was informed of an administrative penalty on Thursday, and on the same day it was ordered to pay a fine of 260 million yuan (41.6 million U.S. dollars).

QVOD can apply for administrative review to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology within 60 days, or file a lawsuit to the court within three months.

A public hearing over its copyright infringement was held on June 17.

The company, founded in 2007, used to offer pirated and pornographic videos with peer-to-peer video streaming technology. Its user base quickly grew to 300 million.

In early April, however, the company shut its QVOD (quasi video on demand) servers in accordance with an order from the National Copyright Administration.