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While on a flight from Shanghai to Beijing, I sat and read the China Daily where I noticed that Chinese largest Search company, Baidu.com Inc (BIDU.O) has been accused of abusing its dominant market position to punish a client company, which is seeking 1.1 million yuan ($161,000) in damages, according to a Beijing court. Here is some information relating to the charges against Baidu.

The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court has yet to make a verdict.

Renren Information Service Co said China’s top Internet search engine had violated the anti-monopoly law when it restricted search access to a subsidiary’s website as punishment for reducing advertising spending with Baidu, the court said.

Nasdaq-listed Baidu denied the charges, said the court. Baidu officials were not immediately available for comment.

Baidu was forced late last year to remove questionable paid search listings from customers that did not have proper licenses, after state television reported Baidu had sold links to unlicensed medical sites with unproven claims for their products.

Baidu also has open court cases brought by Sony Music (6758.T)(SNE.N), Warner Music (WMG.N) and Universal Music (VIV.PA), accusing it of directing users to unauthorised music download websites.

Renren said that after reducing its advertising with Baidu, the search engine quickly moved to reduce access to Renren’s website, the court said.

Officials from Renren were not available to comment.

Renren told the court the number of visits to its website dropped sharply after it reduced its spending with Baidu.

A search for the company on the U.S.-based search engine Google GOOG. found 6,690 pages, while only four were found on Baidu, a Renren official told the court.

Baidu search traffic continued to be strong and is reported widely in the blogophere as having 60 % (or more) of the search market in China.

So I guess that those working in China that this seems just another example of negative publicity against this Search Giant. I wait for the Courts decision and predict this is not the last of this kind of accusation against Baidu…