A US-based software company has filed a lawsuit against China for $2.2 billion at the Los Angeles Federal court for allegedly stealing intellectual property over a technology that was used by the Chinese government to block access of political and religious websites in the country.
Cybersitter, a California-based software developer, accused two companies from China, the Chinese government, and seven other computer manufacturers of misappropriation of trade secrets, copyright infringement, conspiracy and unfair competition in connection with the implementation of the software called Green Dam Youth Escort.
Cybersitter has designed the software that would help parents to filter out contents that can be viewed by their children on the Internet.
Based on the court documents, the US software firm accused the Chinese software designers of copying more than 3, 000 lines of computer codes to develop new software exactly similar to theirs.
The developers then allegedly conspired with the Chinese government and PC makers to distribute some 56 million copies of the software, which is now being illegally handed in China.
Cybersitter also cited the continuous distribution of the said software by the manufacturers even if they were already informed about the infringement.
The US software company also said that Chinese software designers has broke the espionage and trade secrets laws of the US by copying copyrighted materials owned by an American.
Cybersitter Lawyer Greg Fayer said that the lawsuit will set an example to all copyright violators and manufacturers who continue to defy intellectual property rights of small American companies.
“American innovation is the lifeblood of the software industry, and it is vital that the fruits of those labors be protected at home and abroad,” Fayer said.
China, on the other hand, is facing bombardment of criticisms for the implementation of the Green Dam program, saying that it directly violates basic human rights.
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