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China Sued for Copyright Infringement by American Software Co.

“Big brother is watching you” and while this is a famous line from George Orwell’s novel 1984, it may very well be applicable to China’s current administration.

Due to China’s move to block its citizens' access to sites that government has deemed politically undesirable, it is now being sued by an American software maker for damages after pirating its code for Internet content filtering.

The lawsuit also charged seven major computer makers such as Sony, Lenovo and Toshiba and claimed that the Chinese program, Green Dam Youth Escort is guilty of misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, copyright infringement and conspiracy.

The American software firm who filed the suit is Santa Barbara-based Cybersitter LLC. Originally, their software was intended to help parents filter and monitor the content seen by children.

The Chinese government allegedly issued a mandate last July 1, 2009 which required that all computer manufacturers bundle the Green Dam software with any computer sold in China. Even though the software was illegally copied, millions were distributed in order to help the government control internet access.

Cybersitter LLC is claiming $ 2.2 billion worth of damages against the Chinese government and various computer markers.

Software piracy or copyright infringement of software is a crime which involves unauthorized copying of computer software. It is actually one of the most common examples of copyright violation wherein offenders would typically just purchase one license and then illegally copy the software without paying any additional licensing fees.

But copyright infringement laws can be complex and their applications can be varied.

Take for example – the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) which provides a safe harbor for online service providers against the infringing acts of their users and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures.

Intellectual property cases and claims are constantly evolving along with the advent of technology and a lawyer who specializes in copyright and patents should be consulted in case of infringement of patent or copyright.

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