Shanda Literature Accuses Baidu of Raising Keyword Prices
CCID, 10/27/10
Hou Xiaoqiang, CEO of Shanda Literature, a subsidiary of Shanghai-based online entertainment firm Shanda Interactive Entertainment (Nasdaq: SNDA), has alleged that online search firm Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) has raised prices for Shanda Literature-related search keywords by 3,000%, saying "they want us to pay RMB 100 mln." Hou said that the two companies have had numerous discussions the past year or two but to no avail.
Shanda Literature previously sued Baidu in Shanghai. According to Hou, the ratio of pirated works to legitimate copies of online literature last year was more than 50:1, and online novels from Shanda Literature's Qidian.com site were uploaded to forums in less than twenty minutes, adding that Baidu search results for Shanda Literature works were 95% links to pirate copies.
Editor's Note: For more information on Shanda Literature's lawsuit against Baidu, please see "Shanda Literature Files Baidu Lawsuit," MD 3/16/10 issue.
Keywords: Shanda Hou Xiaoqiang Internet online search Baidu online literature Qidian Shanda Literature SNDA BIDU litigation piracy law IPR infringement
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