Microsoft Corp lawyers headed back to court again this week, but this time in China. In a landmark case in Beijing, Microsoft is suing Chinese company, Yadu Science and Technology Co for copyright infringement. Last year MicrosoftÆs authorized sales agent in China discovered that more than 50 of YaduÆs computers were running on pirated Microsoft software. Microsoft demanded that Yadu immediately stop using the illegal software, issue a public apology, and pay it 1.5m yuan ($181,000) in damages.
Yadu refused and the case has now come to court against a backdrop of intense Chinese media attention, much of it critical of the US company. Despite this however Yadu does not have much of a case according to Chinese intellectual property rights judge Li Dongtao, who was quoted in a local newspaper. He said despite the media uproar, the case would be decided through a careful consideration of the facts and current Chinese laws.
