The verdict comes less than a month after the Court ruled that Youku pay US$66,000 in damages to Voole for separate infringement charges. According to a Youku spokeswoman, the company is still undergoing its appeal process for that case.
Reports noted that Voole initially sought up to $14 million worth of damages from Youku.
In a company release, Youku listed its three key arguments against Voole that enabled its court win. “Voole is not a properly registered company, and has no legal rights in internet broadcasting itself; the evidence Voole presented to claim its copyright is not clear; and there are no legal grounds by which advertisers can be held legally responsible for controversial distribution.”
In September, Youku launched three of its own lawsuits against Sohu – the lead organiser of the Anti-Piracy Alliance – for copyright infringement and defamation. These suits were prompted after the Alliance announced its intention to file infringement grievances against Youku, as well as Pepsi and Coca-Cola, for having advertised on unlicensed Youku videos. Youku’s suit was filed in a pre-emptive measure before the Alliance acted on its claims.
Separately, Youku pointed out that Sohu was also sued this month for $7,320 by China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft) for infringement of a video produced by a Sarft subsidiary.
