A Chinese court has ruled in favor of former EXO member Tao in a lawsuit with SM Entertainment.

SM Entertainment had accused Tao of violating his exclusive contract with SM when he produced an album together with a Chinese agency. According to Chinese news outlets on February 23, the 2nd Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing ruled against the plaintiff SM Entertainment, as they had in the first trial.

The court stated, “The exclusive contract rights that SM is claiming are not part of the civil rights defined by the Tort Liability Law of the People’s Republic of China.”

In the first trial, the justice department had also ruled that Tao’s release of an album did not appear to infringe on any rights, such as SM’s exclusive contract rights.

Tao has been active as both an artist and in dramas and variety shows in China following his departure from EXO in April of 2015. He has been in a legal battle with SM Entertainment in Korea as well over the invalidity of his exclusive contract, and after the court ruled in favor of SM Entertainment last April, he lost an appeal in October.

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