Eleven international music companies have jointly brought a lawsuit against Yahoo China for providing illegal online music downloads, claiming a total of RMB 5.5 million (710,400 USD) in damages.

The case has been received by the Beijing No.2 Intermediate People's Court. The eleven companies, including the Universal Music Group and the Time Warner Music Group, are also asking Alibaba, the operator of Yahoo China, to cease Yahoo China's infringement on their copyrights.

According to these companies, Alibaba has provided 229 Chinese and English songs in 46 albums, the copyright of which in recording and production is owned by the plaintiff. These songs have been available to the public for music auditing and downloading on the websites of Yahoo China since April 10, 2006.

Until now, Yahoo China has yet to make any comments on the case.