A court has ruled that the Chinese division of Yahoo! infringed copyright because its music search service linked to websites offering pirated music.

A court in Beijing found in favour of record labels including Music, Sony BMG and Universal Vivendi, which said that Yahoo! China’s search engine directed users to sites containing 229 illegally copied songs.

The company was ordered to pay 210,000 yuan (£13,500) in damages, according to a Chinese state news agency.

Before the ruling, Yahoo! had been confident that it would win after a court rejected similar accusations against a Chinese search engine, Baidu.com, last November.

Yahoo! said that it would appeal against the decision. “We believe Yahoo! China’s music search service both meets and exceeds the relevant legal standards for intellectual property protection,” the company said in a statement.

“An important principle is at stake in this case,” the statement continued. “Search engine operators should not be held liable for content posted on third-party websites.”

Yahoo! China is operated by the American company’s local partner, Alibaba.com, which is China’s biggest online commerce site.

Piracy of music, films and other goods is widespread in China, but the United States is increasing pressure on the Chinese Government to act against it.