Movie Satellite Channel Program Production Center, a subsidiary of China’s broadcasting regulator, has sued Apple, claiming the iPhone maker has infringed its exclusive online rights to broadcast a movie that is more than 20 years old (via the Associated Press).
The plaintiff is also suing Heyi Information and Technology (Beijing) Company Ltd, the developer and operator of the Youku HD app (available on the App Store), because it has allowed its users to watch the movie entitled “Xuebo dixiao”, loosely translated as “Bloody Fight with the Fierce Enemy”, causing it “huge economic losses”, according to the Beijing Haidian District People’s Court.
Movie Satellite Channel Program Production Center wants both Apple and the developer of the Youku app to immediately stop broadcasting the movie and pay roughly USD$7,500 (50,000 yuan) as compensation and “reasonable expenditure”, or roughly USD$3,000 (20,158 yuan) in attempting to stop the copyright infringements, according to court documents.
This lawsuit is the latest of several Apple has had to face in China recently. As we previously reported, Apple has been forced to suspend iBooks and iTunes Movies services after Beijing imposed stricter regulations on online publishing, especially targeting foreign firms.
Apple is also engaged in a legal battle in Beijing over patent infringement of a company that barely exists and lost exclusive rights to the “iPhone” name in China in a recent trademark lawsuit.
