Do the companies really expect Chinese consumers to give a shit about their losses through piracy? The Chinese have a very different view about ownership rights to the Western world that Universal et al are used to. It's not just music they're happy to share and share alike - branded physical items, like clothes, are equally copied without a second thought.

Kind of nice in a way.

Paris as an icon 'cos she's unique and even the Chinese can't copy her. Thank God.

"[Various pigopolists] accuse Baidu of violating copyright by providing access to music files"

Surely it's the ISPs at each end and the stuff in the middle which provides *access*. Baidu just tells people where they are.

AFAIK Baidu are neither an ISP nor a proxy service.

Still, I guess it keeps the lawyers in the style to which they've become accustomed.

John

"The music industry in China wants partnership with the technology companies – but you cannot build partnership on the basis of systemic theft of copyrighted music and that is why we have been forced to take further actions"

Good grief! "I want a partnership with the hot bird down the road, but you cannot build a partnership on the basis of her bringing up the fact that I beat my previous partners senseless and that is why I've been forced to take further actions." Yes, try that in court...

Bottom line: You cannot build a partnership by force. Nobody wants to partner with you after what you have done and are doing to your existing partners (the artists. Waaah! You artsy types are asking too much for your creations. Here's 8% instead) so you're pissing in the wind. With that image in your mind, trying to sue Baidu in China is a surer way to "get your own back" than urinating over the windward gunwale...

Piracy is not the answer, of course. The answer is removing these irrelevant dolts from the mix before they screw our musical culture up completely. That includes releasing crap as well as screwing artists.

The first language of most Chinese people isn't English. So Baidu in English looks like Google, but its Chinese search engine was earlier and better than Google's.

(Google is now up there, but Baidu had already gained market share by the time its product in China was any good)

Google is great for getting MP3 and movies, so much better then the piratebay, limewire or whatever.

play with this and see what I mean

?intitle:index.of? mp3 [artist] [title]

Paris because she is brighter then the music industry

Google is great for getting MP3 and movies, so much better then the piratebay, limewire or whatever.

play with this and see what I mean

?intitle:index.of? mp3 [artist] [title]

replace MP3 for the filetype of your choice,

Paris because she is brighter then the music industry

Who always misreads Phonographic wrong the on first read?

"Who always misreads Phonographic wrong the on first read?"

What a coincidence. I always misread it as Photographic too.

"Who always misreads Phonographic wrong the on first read?"

Nope.

I tend to get "Pornographic"

anon - naturally ;-)

It is obvious that you lot have over-indulged in self-satisfaction and that has affected your eye-sight !!

Either visit an optician or get a girlfriend or, Allah be praised, get a girlfriend who *IS* an optician !!

PH, the symbol of self-indulgence