The new entity is designed to work with content providers to supply copyrighted material, including movies, TV shows, sports, and animation, and it will generate its revenue through advertisements, reported Cnet.

“Online video is a rapidly growing sector in China, and I believe Baidu’s search platform will provide a solid foundation for the new company to address the increasing demand for premium content,” said Yu Gong, former president and chief operating officer of China Mobile’s 12580 hotline service, who is set to head the new venture as CEO.

But video piracy has long been a thorny issue in China. And it has gone more high-tech in recent years. More and more illegal videos, including full-length movies and TV shows, have shown up on popular Chinese video-streaming sites such as Youku and Tudou. A group of content providers filed a lawsuit late last year against some of these Chinese sites, charging them with copyright violation, China.org reported. So far, the case has resulted in a legal judgment against Youku, ordering it to pay a small sum in damages.

TVs with Internet access have also become a new haven for video piracy, as Chinese users can now download illegal videos directly off the Web into their living rooms. The Google-funded service Xunlei, a Chinese peer-to-peer file-sharing service, has been the target of lawsuits, alleging that it distributes copyrighted movies and TV shows without compensating the studios or networks.

Source : Konaxis