Court Hears Youku Defamation Suit Against Sohu
Beijing Times, 5/26/10
Beijing's Haidian District Court began hearing Chinese video site Youku's lawsuit against internet portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) yesterday. Youku is demanding a public apology from Sohu for calling a press conference on September 15, 2009 in which Sohu accused Youku of being a "pirate bay," and for an article released by Sohu's IT channel claiming that all of Youku's content was pirated, calling Youku China's largest pirated video website. In addition to a public apology, Youku is requesting that the court order Sohu to cease its accusations and cover Youku's legal expenses.
Sohu said the article was reprinted from another source but did not contain serious errors, pointing out that since Youku's total video library far exceeds the number of copyrights it has obtained, it must still host pirated content. Sohu CEO Charles Zhang issued a statement defending the veracity of the article. The court has yet to announced a verdict.
Keywords: Beijing Haidian District People's Court Charles Zhang Internet Youku Sohu law litigation online video piracy
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