China's Tencent wins video copyright infringment case in US district court

A US district court has awarded Tencent (0700) nearly US$85 million (HK$663 million) in compensation after finding that Taiwan-based TV box firm Unblock Tech and other distributors violated copyrights of video content developed by the Chinese tech giant.

The case, brought by units Tencent Penguin Film, Tencent Computer System and Tencent Technology accused the defendants of improperly copying, distributing and importing more than 1,500 of its shows including family drama "Little Days" and sci-fi blockbuster "Three Body Problem".

The US District Court for the Western District of Texas handed down the judgement on February 7.

Tencent, which operates production house Tencent Pictures and Tencent Video did not respond to a request for comment. Unblock Tech also did not respond to requests for comment.