The music industry is turning up the legal heat on Chinese websites it reckons are flouting its IP. First, Universal, Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG and Warner have filed suit against Baidu, China’s biggest web portal, demanding it remove links to music files around the web. Second, Hong Kong-based EMI spin-off Gold Label Entertainment joins the trio for similar action against Sohu and its Sogou multimedia search site. And third, labels say Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) China “has still not complied” with the Beijing Higher People’s Court’s April ruling to remove its deep music links.

Labels lost a January appeal against a December decision that Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) is not breaking music copyright law, but the IFPI music industry umbrella reckons a precedent has been set by the Yahoo China ruling, which saw the company fined 200,000 yuan ($27,140) and which Yahoo failed to overturn. The Baidu case may have failed but the labels defeated Yahoo on new laws introduced in 2006 that can hold services liable even for content they point to.

So now, “after months of fruitless negotiations,” the labels are having another go under the new law, filing in Beijing’s No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court. IFPI: “Each of (the sites) is a driver of copyright abuse in China, where the huge potential for the online music sector is being stymied by copyright theft.” IFPI said it wrote in January to “officers and directors” of Yahoo in the US, which owns 44 percent of Yahoo China along with Alibaba, asking them to comply with the earlier ruling - but it’s now asked the court to enforce compliance.

- Video: Meanwhile, the Chinese government has ruled that video sharing sites formed before January 31 can continue operating under license as long as they don’t broadcast illegal content. More at Media Network.

• Music Companies Lose Appeal Against Baidu on Copyright Infringement
• Chinese Court Upholds Ruling Yahoo Music Site Breaches Copyright; Ditto For Baidu