China’s iQiyi seeks US$4.4 million in damages for unlicensed streaming of hit show about back-stabbing concubines – SCMP

What happened: Chinese video streaming platform iQiyi is suing Jinri Toutiao operator Bytedance for RMB30 million ($4.4 million) over illegal streaming of its popular show The Story of Yanxi Palace. iQiyi has accused the company of hosting short clips of the show, causing damage to the video streaming giant. The Haidian District People’s Court of Beijing has accepted the case. However, representatives at Bytedance say they have not yet received notice of the case.

Why it’s important: Bytedance has spent a lot of time in court this year. The company found itself at odds with both Tencent and Baidu for unfair competition and copyright infringements. These cases have sought compensation ranging from RMB 1 to RMB 90,000. Matters have even got personal, with CEOs weighing in on their respective WeChat Moments. This is not the first time iQiyi has filed a lawsuit against another company either. In May, the company sued Bilibili for alleged illegal streaming of Rap of China.

Christopher Udemans is TechNode's former Shanghai-based data and graphics reporter. He covered Chinese artificial intelligence, mobility, cleantech, and cybersecurity.

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