Microsoft sued over Chinese character conversion technology

Zhongyi Electronic Ltd., a small Chinese company, is suing Microsoft over a product which turns words typed in the Roman alphabet into Chinese characters.

The software in question is called Zhengma, and has been used by Microsoft since 1998. In a statement from the company, Zhongyi's general manager says it has received no money from Microsoft since that time. In a statement on Friday, Microsoft said that it has the full right to use Zhongyi's product since it has paid all fees that were detailed in the licensing agreements.

Litigation began on Tuesday in the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, according to a post made to the company's site on Wednesday. Chinese newspaper Xinhua reported the case still lacks an actual claim of damages by Zhongyi, as the company has no figures to prove how many copies of Windows are in use.

Patent and Trademark litigation in China has been an ongoing issue for the Redmond company. It was recently reported in Orient Today that the China Trademark and Patent Office dismissed Microsoft's five-year opposition to Ningbo eyeglass company's registration of the "Windows" trademark.

In 2001, the company managed to secure the trademark "shi chuang" which means "Windows of Vision," and in 2003, trademarked the English language "Windows" for its line of glasses. Ningbo argued that in addition to the Windows name being written in a completely different style, there is no way a glass manufacturer would challenge Microsoft's business.