Baidu Sues Qihoo 360 for IPR Infringement
Information Times, 6/06/13
On June 5, the Beijing Xicheng District People's Court agreed to hear a lawsuit filed by Chinese internet company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) against Internet services and security software provider Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) alleging that the webmaster platform of Qihoo 360's search engine So.com copies aspects of Baidu's own webmaster platform. Baidu is seeking RMB 500,000 in damages.
Baidu launched its webmaster platform on September 16, 2011. The platform features a number of webmaster tools developed and copyrighted by Baidu, including a Baidu sitemap generation tool allowing owners to generate and submit sitemap files to aid in Baidu's indexing of their sites. According to Baidu, Qihoo 360's search platform for webmasters, which launched on January 24, 2013, copies both the content and formatting of these tools from Baidu's site.
Baidu alleges that Qihoo 360's unauthorized copying and public dissemination of its documentation files constitutes an infringement of Baidu's authorship rights over the files and has resulted in massive economic losses to the company. Baidu is calling for Qihoo 360 to cease its infringement, publish a public apology, and pay RMB 500,000 in damages.
Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see "Qihoo 360 Introduces Platform for Webmasters," MD 1/24/13 issue.
Keywords: Internet IPR infringement Baidu Beijing Xicheng District People's Court BIDU Qihoo 360 QIHU litigation online search law
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