A local arm of U.S.-based Warner Music has won a lawsuit against a Chinese karaoke firm that played its music videos without permission, state media said today (Oct. 18).
Warner Music Hong Kong, a subsidiary of New York-based Time Warner Inc., won an award of 12,000 yuan ($1,500), the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The Kunming Intermediate People’s Court in southern China ordered that Haoledi Music Entertainment Co. Ltd. immediately stop playing Warner Music’s songs at its karaoke parlors across China, Xinhua said.
It didn’t say when the verdict was delivered.
Warner Music Hong Kong also filed suit in Beijing last year accusing another karaoke chain — Taiwan-based Partyworld, which has branches in mainland China — of illegally using its videos.
Karaoke is hugely popular in China. The music often comes from illegally copied recordings, with no fees paid to copyright holders.
China’s trading partners, including the United States, have repeatedly demanded that Beijing do more to stamp out rampant piracy.
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