The Baidu Music Settlement: A Turning Point for Copyright Reform In China?

Abstract

Why did Baidu, China's largest Internet search service, settle a 2011 music copyright infringement case with three large western music publishers when it had prevailed on previous such claims against it? Dong and Jayakar explore four possible reasons for the Baidu settlement, and conclude that while one may not have been enough, all of them taken together likely led to the result, representing a major shift in Baidu's position on music copyrights. The authors then ask if this case may be exemplary of a major shift of China's overall attitude towards copyright and intellectual property.