Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court has ordered PICA to stop violating Tencent's rights and pay CNY2 million to the Shenzhen-based instant communications service provider in compensation.

In May 2006, Tencent sued PICA after rounds of fruitless negotiations, accusing it of providing its QQ service without its approval and asking for CNY5 million to cover its losses. But PICA argued that it was providing Tencent's QQ instant communications services to users as a way to link the company's respective services.

In its petition, Tencent says that PICA has done harm to it by violating its computer copyrights, intellectual property rights and causing improper competition. However, based on the evidence provided by Tencent, the court only accepted its request for improper competition and turned down the other two accusations.

According to local media, both sides seem satisfied with the court's judgment.