Tokyo - Yahoo China (NASD: YHOO) has appealed a ruling from a Chinese court that found Alibaba, the parent company of Yahoo China, guilty of copyright infringement for providing "deep links" to sites offering unauthorized songs, lyrics and ringtones, Billboard reported. The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in April ordered Yahoo China to pay $27,000 in damages to record labels and remove the deep links from its service.

The lawsuit was filed in January by record label members of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

"It is incredible that the music industry should have to defend its rights in a Chinese court against a company in which an American corporate icon has such a large stake," IFPI chairman/CEO John Kennedy told Billboard.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3btn9e (Billboard)

http://www.alibaba.com

http://www.ifpi.org