Hong Kong - The Motion Picture Association (MPA) announced on Friday that six of its member studios have filed civil copyright infringement complaints totaling $1 million against Xunlei, a popular file-sharing network in China that is partly owned by Google (NASD: GOOG). The MPA stated that Xunlei's network offers "hundreds" of its members' titles, including "Spider-Man 3" and "Miami Vice," and noted that it sent 78 separate notices of infringement to Xunlei over a five-week period before initiating the litigation.

"These actions demonstrate that copyright holders can and will vigorously defend their property by any legal means, including redress before the courts where necessary," said Frank Rittman, VP, deputy regional director and regional legal counsel, Asia-Pacific for the MPA.

"P2P piracy is a huge problem in China, which if left unattended, will threaten the continued development of legitimate online services supported by copyright owners."

Reuters reports that Google paid an undisclosed sum early last year for an unspecified stake in Xunlei.

Related Links:
http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/chinacivillitigation_xunlei.pdf

http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSSHA34521220080215

http://www.xunlei.com