Yahoo admits to copyright infringement in Singapore

Ever since news organizations have begun posting their stories on the internet, the subject of reproducing articles has been a rather touchy one. Many news organizations feel that services that rewrite and repost their stories should not be allowed to do so without paying some form of compensation. 

For example, two years ago the Asian media group Singapore Press holdings (SPH) sued Yahoo for copyright infringement, alleging that the website reproduced its content without permission. SPH publishes the Straits Times newspaper in Singapore, along with others, and asked the nation's high court to stop Yahoo and force the company to pay damages.

This week, both parties settled, according to a report by Inquirer Technology. Yahoo acknowledged that its Singapore news site had indeed reproduced SPH content without approval and paid an undisclosed amount in damages.

"As publishers Yahoo companies strive to respect the intellectual property rights of others wherever they do business," the company said in a statement. "The actions here by a small number of Yahoo Asia Pacific employees are deeply regretted. The responsible employees have been disciplined or terminated."

This is a surprising move on the part of Yahoo, which at first resisted SPH's lawsuit and filed a claim of its own. The company argued that copyright does not protect facts and information, and even accused SPH of reproducing some Yahoo articles without permission.

Those charges have been dropped as part of the settlement.

It can be difficult to determine whether the sharing of new articles qualities as copyright infringement. Businesses in this market should work with a Phoenix business attorney to make sure they are in the clear. 

Categorised in: International Business Law

This post was written by