Website set to face the music

China's top search engine, Baidu.com, is being sued by a local music industry group for alleged copyright violation, according to a statement released by the group.

On its Website, the Music Copyright Society of China quoted official Qu Jingming as accusing Baidu.com of "providing music listening, broadcasting and downloading services in various forms on its Website without approval and, through unfettered piracy, earning huge advertising revenue on its huge number of hits."

The industry group said Baidu's piracy forced legitimate online music providers to shut down.

The group said it filed a lawsuit against Baidu in a Beijing court in January, alleging it illegally used 50 songs and demanding compensation.

It is the second similar action recently.

The International Federation of Phonographic Industries said earlier this month that several music publishers had filed a lawsuit against Baidu, accusing it of aiding illicit online copying. The lawsuit demanded Baidu remove links to thousands of sites carrying unlicensed copies of music.