Xunlei, the Chinese video site that is backed by Google, is facing new civil actions from the Hollywood Studios.
The lawsuit regarding piracy and copyright infringement is not the first time Xunlei has faced a legal battle with the MPAA. In 2008 the Studios filed a suit relating to the same charges: piracy. In 2011, copyright infringement issues kept Xunlei from filing its IPO.
It looked as if progress was being made last year when the MPAA and the video site reached a Content Protection Agreement (CPA) in an attempt to protect online content. The company promised to tighten up its regulations and launched an education campaign to show users how to gain access to legal content.
But it became apparent over the course of the year that progress was not really being made. The MPAA issued a statement in October stating that they did not think that Xunlei was living up to its obligations. And on Monday, the civil suit was brought forth in China’s Nanshan District Court.
Although issues still exist with Xunlei, the environment in China as a whole is certainly improving when it comes to piracy. Over the last few years the country has put in place new copyright protection legislation and created specialty copyright courts.
It seems like the battle for copyright protection is going to be a long one, but things are moving in the right direction as more and more legitimate video sites in China are reaching legal licensing agreements with Hollywood.