MPAA wins copyright infringement case

Categories: America, China, Copyright Protection

Michael Coyle
August 22, 2017

Motion Picture Association of America has just had a copyright victory against Chinese video platform, Xunlei, and it was a long time coming. Xunlei is one of ChinaÂs top 10 internet companies and operates ÂThunderÂ, the worldÂs most popular torrent client.

In 2014, Xunlei pursued an IPO in the US which, unfortunately for them, led to a breakthrough signing of a Content Protection Agreement, which required Xunlei to protect MPAA content. In October 2014 MPAA reported Xunlei to the US government and in January 2015 they sued Xunlei for copyright infringement. Xunlei was found guilty of copyright infringement of 28 Hollywood titles at Shenzhen Nanshan District PeopleÂs Court.

Xunlei Networking Technologies Co. was found guilty of making 28 movie titles (belonging to Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures and 20^th Century Fox, amongst others) available to the public without proper authorisation, Âin serious violationÂ of the movie groupÂs rights. MPAA was awarded $210k in damages, as well as legal fees. Xunlei was forced to cease-and-desist and pay this compensation.

It took a good few years, but MPAA managed to pin Xunlei down in a court case. The only question now is what is next for them. They have both spent two and a half years committed to a court case. I am certainly interested to see their next moves.

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Written By:

Michael Coyle

Michael is Lawdit’s Principal and heads our Commercial and Intellectual Property Department. As a Solicitor Advocate, he is one of a select group of legal experts qualified to represent clients as an advocate in the Higher Courts in England and Wales. He holds a Master of Laws degree (LL.M) from Nottingham Trent University and is a guest lecturer at Southampton Solent University. He has also completed a teaching stint at the Academy of Music in Guildford where Michael taught copyright law. Michael is highly regarded for his work in all areas of intellectual property law (which includes the eCommerce and IT fields), litigation and company/commercial matters. He regularly advises on non-contentious issues including regulatory and statutory obligations and has been involved in many successful disputes, with a strong reputation for finding common sense and practical solutions for clients. In 2017, Michael was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Law from Southampton Solent University for his contribution to the University and his continued support to its students.