Baidu, whose shares will be listed on Nasdaq, is already awaiting Chinese court rulings on two intellectual property cases brought against it. The company cited both cases in its listing prospectus.

The search engine may also be infringing copyright by allowing online viewing of a television series owned by TVB, Hong Kong's leading broadcaster, according to Ye Zhijian, of Hangzhou-based T&C Law Firm.

Western and Hong Kong movies are also available through the Baidu site, Ye said, and he is contacting Asia Television in Hong Kong and the Motion Picture Association of America over possible copyright infringements. MPAA members include Walt Disney, MGM, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros.

Eagle Shooting Heroes, a TVB television series from 1994, can be downloaded from Baidu's movie service, which it operates in partnership with SMG Broadband, a site run by Shanghai Media Group, said Ye, who represents TVB. ``TVB is going to issue a letter to both Baidu and SMG Broadband to inform them of the copyright violation, and if no proper resolution can be reached, it will sue both,'' he said.

TVB ``has not granted anyone in China the right allowing its television series to be played online,'' said Ye.

Baidu, which is 2.4 percent owned by US-based search engine Google, partners a number of Chinese-based download sites to offer the service, charging users 30 yuan (HK$28.78) per month to view movies online.

Partners include China's leading broadcaster CCTV, and the mainland's two fixed-line telephone companies, China Telecom and China Netcom. SMG, a spin-off from the government TV broadcaster in Shanghai, controls the city's major television stations and publications.

In one pending copyright case, Ye represented Beijing New Picture Film when it sued Baidu and its partner, the Hangzhou branch of Zhejiang Telecommunication, on June 28 for allowing users to download the movie House of Flying Daggers.

Baidu has been referred to as the ``Chinese Google,'' and the company is expecting strong demand for its shares. Baidu increased the size of its offering Wednesday to 4.04 million shares from 3.6 million, and increased the estimated price range to US$23-US$25 a share, from an earlier level of US$19-US$21 a share.

Baidu chief executive Robin Li did not respond to an email inquiry from The Standard and other executives were not available to comment. No SMG officials were available for comment.

Shares of Google sold in an August 2004 initial public offering for US$85 and they are now worth about US$300. sherman.so@singtaonewscorp.com