Chinese court orders website to pay up for pirated movies

A popular Chinese website has been ordered to pay $140,000 US in damages for illegally distributing American movies.

The Motion Picture Association (MPA), which represents U.S. studios in international markets, announced Friday that a court in Beijing had ordered Sohu.com to pay up.The website must also acknowledge wrongdoing on its site.

A spokesperson for Sohu said the company had no comment on the matter but was aware of the ruling.

This marks a second victory for American studios in their battle against piracy.China is considered the worst market for movie and music piracy.

The MPA estimates piracy in China cost U.S. studios $244 million in lost box office receipts in 2005.

The MPA said Sohu.com distributed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Dawn of the Dead, S.W.A.T. and other titles in 2004 and 2005 through its subscription download service.

On Dec. 19, five major studios won a landmark ruling in China.Through MPA, they successfully sued and won a lawsuit against a shop in China charged with distributing illegal copies of films such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith and War of the Worlds.

Columbia Pictures, Disney, Paramount Pictures,20th Century Fox and Universal City Studios were awarded $20,100 US.

The MPA says it has another 35 lawsuits pending in the Chinese courts involving movie piracy.

It blames China's protectionist policies for the booming market in illegal films.

China only allows about two dozen foreign films to be released yearly to protect its own studio system.