Monday, September 18, 2006 Hong Kong Television Broadcasts, Hong Kong's largest terrestrial broadcaster, has won a 200,000 yuan lawsuit against web portal 21CN.com in what it claims is the first time an outside broadcaster has successfully sued to stop programme piracy on the mainland. TVB accused 21CN.com of illegally distributing episodes from The Bund, music show Jade Solid Gold Selections and the 2003 Miss Hong Kong Pageant final. The portal had made the shows available since November 2003 for downloading or viewing online at a price of 30 yuan per month per user for unlimited access. The High Court in Guangdong province found in TVB's favour in July, rejecting 21CN.com's appeal against the ruling of a lower court, the broadcaster said at the weekend. "TVB is most pleased with the judgment as it sets a precedent in China that copyright should be upheld," said Lau Kin-fai, controller of the broadcaster's mainland division. He urged other broadcasters whose intellectual property rights had been violated to come forward and take legal action. TVB may not be finished with 21CN.com yet. The broadcaster said the portal was still showing other illegal content, such as the new drama series Maiden's Vow and Land of Wealth, which were running in prime time this month on TVB Jade. It said the portal had even built a special site for TVB programmes without authorisation. A TVB spokesman said that the broadcaster would continue to pursue 21CN.com until it had removed all of TVB's programmes from the website. In April, TVB launched a copyright infringement suit seeking 100,000 yuan in compensation from state-owned Jiangsu Telecom for broadcasting the drama series War and Beauty on the internet. The case is pending. credits: asianfanatics.
