Yahoo!,
which is facing a lawsuit by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) for alleged
copyright infringement, intends to "vigorously defend" itself against
the suit, a senior editor said yesterday.
Yahoo! Southeast Asia managing editor Alan
Soon added in a news story posted on the company's website yesterday morning
that its "editorial business model of acquired, commissioned and original
content is proven". The three-paragraph article was headlined "Yahoo!
readies defence against SPH claim".
In the evening, a longer version was posted,
with the headline changed to "Yahoo! pledges vigorous defence against SPH
claim". It contains comments from media observers and Yahoo! readers.
When contacted, a Yahoo! Southeast Asia
spokesman said that the matter has been referred to its legal advisers and it
was unable to comment.
On Tuesday, the digital media company
responded to a writ of summons and statement of claim filed by SPH in the
Singapore High Court last Friday, and served on it on Monday.
Yahoo!, which is represented by lawyers from
ATMD Bird & Bird LLP, has until Dec 13 to file a defence.
In its statement of claim, SPH cited, as
examples, 23 articles from its newspapers which Yahoo! was alleged to have
reproduced substantially over a 12-month period. This was done without the
licence or authorisation of the Singapore-listed media group.
The articles were first published in the print
editions of The Straits Times, The New Paper and My Paper between Nov 16 last
year and Oct 20 this year. They were allegedly used on Yahoo! Southeast Asia's
websites, including a section called 'Latest Singapore News'.
The statement of claim added that despite
SPH's request to cease from further infringing acts, substantial reproductions
of the company's content continue to be available on Yahoo! Southeast Asia's
sites.
SPH, represented by Wong Partnership, is
asking the court to declare that Yahoo! Southeast Asia has infringed on its
content, an injunction against the company from continuing the infringement,
and damages.
Yesterday, wire agencies like Reuters as well
as the online sites of major newspapers around the world such as the Washington
Post, Wall Street Journal and the Times of India, reported on the case. It pits
a predominantly traditional media owner against a new media firm and is
believed to be the first of its kind here.
Leonard Lim
The Straits Times
Business & Investment Opportunities
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