Beijing court orders Sohu to post apology for defaming Youku
Beijing. June 13. INTERFAX-CHINA - Beijing's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court has ordered Sohu.com Inc., a leading Chinese Web portal, to post an apology on its homepage to online video platform Youku.com Inc., state media reported June 13.
The court ruled that Sohu had defamed Youku by posting comments criticizing the website for hosting pirated content, according to a Beijing Times report.
The court said the apology must remain on Sohu's homepage for three days.
Youku filed a lawsuit against Sohu for defamation and copyright infringement on Sept. 17, 2009, two days after Sohu accused Youku of generating revenue via money laundering and of hiring people to upload pirated content to the platform, the report said.
A court official surnamed Li told Interfax on June 13 that Sohu received the court order on June 9 and is expected to post the apology within 10 to 15 days.
Beijing's Haidian District Court ordered Youku to pay Sohu RMB 105,000 ($15,376) for copyright infringement, Interfax reported in December 2009.
- RL