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Published in News

Cybersitter comes out swinging, claims Software Piracy

by on07 January 2010

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Goes after Chinese Government


California-based Cybersitter LLC, a software developer of content filters created to help parents monitor the electronic content their offspring can access, has filed an action in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.  Cybersitter is claiming damages of $2.2 billion for software piracy by the government of the Peoples Republic of China; and named defendants Acer, AsusteK, BenQ, Haier, Sony, Lenovo and Toshiba are charged with distributing the government-pirated programs with the PCs they sold in China.

The complaint alleges copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition and conspiracy. It also claims violation of U.S. criminal laws governing economic espionage by Chinese software manufacturers.  The crux of the complaint alleges that the PRC government copied Cybersitter’s codes and then used the pirated code to block access by Chinese citizens to content that was determined “undesirable” by PRC government standards.  Cybersitter’s complaint against the computer manufacturers is based on the fact that they were aware that the pirated code was on the PCs they were distributing and selling in China.

This legal action is important because it is the first time a U.S. company has directly sued the government of China for infringement of intellectual property rights.  China does not regard intellectual property rights as having the same protections as in the U.S. The Cybersitter infringement was uncovered by a university researcher who posted an online report on Internet filtering programs. 

Cybersitter’s attorney, Gregg Fayer, claims that Chinese software makers appear to have downloaded the program from the Cybersitter server and then copied more than 3,000 lines of its code.  Once the copying was completed they then incorporated it into their program, known as Green Dam Youth Escort. "I don't think I have ever seen such clear-cut stealing," said Fayer. "They did a sloppy job of copying," he continued, and they even included directions on how to get to the Cybersitter site. 

On top of the government’s alleged piracy, the PRC government issued an order last year requiring computer manufacturers to pre-install or supply the "Green Dam Youth Escort" software with PCs offered for sale in China.  Chinese authorities claimed that the "Green Dam" system was required in order to block access to violent and obscene material, but analysts who reviewed the program have said that it also filters out material the Chinese government considers politically objectionable.

After there was a huge objection to the Green Dam software by Chinese citizens and computer companies, the government softened its position and eventually reversed the requirement for the Green Dam installation, but the Chinese software manufacturers continued to sell their PCs with the installed software.

Cybersitter is also seeking damages for royalties that would be due for sales of its product, which retails in the U.S. for US$39.95.  Fayer, Cybersitter’s attorney, issued a statement that this case could be "a watershed for the protection of American intellectual property internationally.” 

We don't make many widgets anymore," he went on to say. "What we have to offer the world is our ingenuity and creativity, our ideas and what lawyers call intellectual property. From small companies like Cybersitter to Microsoft to motion pictures and the music industry, these are the products we have to offer the world. It is important that they be protected."

Last modified on 07 January 2010
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