China's first regulation on online copyright, implemented on
July 1, gives search engine operators some legal status and
protection from copyright infringement claims, according to
industry experts.
"Under the regulation, search engines providing links can be
exempted from copyright infringement claims," said Wang Bin,
secretary general of the Online Copyright Alliance of the Internet
Society of China.
In September 2005, seven record companies accused Baidu.com,
China's largest search engine, of offering free pirated downloads
of songs. The claim triggered a spate of legal cases against search
engine operators.
However, the new regulation stipulates that Internet service
providers which merely offer search services and links are not
liable for copyright infringement if they remove links to pirated
content at the request of copyright owners. However, if the search
engines persist and provide links to pirated content, they would be
deemed to share liability for infringement along with websites that
offer the pirated content.
"It means search engines would not be directly responsible for
pirated products they provide links to," Wang explained.
Government statistics show that China has over 111 million
Internet users and Internet companies are beginning to focus on
providing sound and image content.
"Copyright has become a prominent issue for websites and laws
and regulations are needed to guarantee the websites' legal right
to provide content," Wang said.
He believed the new regulation would encourage Internet content
providers to view intellectual property rights protection more
seriously.
Baidu.com welcomed the new regulation and believed it would give
search engines a legal status and help promote cooperation with
copyright owners.
"Baidu hopes to enter into mutually beneficial cooperation
agreements with record companies. The protection of online
copyrights requires the coordination of the whole industrial
chain," said Wang Dong, brand and marketing director of Baidu.
Music searches are Baidu's most popular service after website
searches. Last October, it launched an alliance with six record
companies. That number has since increased to 30.
The regulation spells opportunity and responsibility for search
engines, according to He Qifeng, an analyst with the China Center
for Information Industry Development.
"It lays a framework for Internet service providers and
clarifies their liabilities."
But the regulation was hard to implement to some extent, He
said. Due to the large number of pirate websites, copyright owners
are finding it difficult to list them all, and even if they could,
search engines might be reluctant to remove all the errant links,
particularly if this affects general search results, He said.
"Search engines might find themselves in a dilemma then."
However, Wang pointed out that if copyright owners fail to first
inform the search engine operator of the infringement and chose to
proceed immediately with legal action, the regulation gives no
guidance to courts on how to rule in such cases.
Wang said the Online Copyright Alliance would discuss the issue
with Internet companies, and judicial and legislative
departments.
(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2006)