US software firm files lawsuit against China
US software firm files lawsuit against China
Wednesday 6th January 2010
A company in California has launched a $2.2 billion lawsuit against several Chinese businesses as well as the country's government itself.Cybersitter, which introduced one of the first internet porn filters to the market, has accused the Chinese government, two companies and seven PC makers of illegally copying over 3,000 lines of code from its software.
The American firm alleges that their software was pirated for the controversial site-blocking Green Dam Youth Escort Programme that China wants all computer users to have.
Cybersitter also claims that millions of copies of Green Dam software were sold even after manufacturers realised it was illegal.
They believe they are owed $2.2 billion in compensation because this is the total when the 56.5 million copies of Green Dam software sold by July last year is multiplied by $40, the cost of Cybersitter's internet porn filter.
The lawsuit cites accusations of conspiracy, trade secrets, unfair competition and copyright infringement.
Cybersitter's lawyer Greg Fayer has said the stealing of American software by foreign manufacturers is "all-too-common".
According to the BBC, the Chinese government has not yet commented on the lawsuit against it.
Since July, all Chinese computers have been sold with the Green Dam software installed on them to prevent people from looking at "offensive" websites displaying porn and violence.
However, Green Dam has received criticism within China and abroad because it blocks sexual health websites and also has technical weaknesses making it susceptible to being hacked as exposed by the University of Michigan.
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