Apple Sued in China Over War Film From the 1990s

Apple is being sued by a subsidiary of China's broadcasting regulator over a propaganda film more than 20 years old, the AP reports. A Beijing court says the case has been brought by a production center that alleges that Apple has infringed its exclusive online rights to broadcast a film that depicts Chinese fighting against Japanese soldiers in northern China in the early 1930s. The plaintiff is also suing the developer and operator of the Youku HD app available on Apple's App Store that it says enabled users to watch the film and caused it "huge economic losses," according to the Beijing Haidian District People's Court. The court says it has accepted the case brought by Movie Satellite Channel Program Production Center that comes under the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television.

The plaintiff alleges that Apple has infringed its exclusive online rights to broadcast Xuebo dixiao, which loosely translates as Bloody Fight with the Fierce Enemy and was first shown in 1994. The production center is also suing Heyi Information and Technology (Beijing) Company Ltd., which developed and operated the Youku HD app, the court said in an online statement Thursday. The app is sold by Youku.com, according to information on Apple's iTunes site. The Youku site is one of China's best known movie and TV program streaming sites and is owned by Youku Tudou Inc. The plaintiff wants the two companies to immediately stop broadcasting the film and is seeking compensation of $7,500 plus its "reasonable expenditure" of $3,000 in attempting to stop the infringement of its rights, the court said. (More Apple stories.)