Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Cybersitter Sues China Over Stolen 'Green Dam' Source Code

Santa Barbara-based internet filtering software provider Cybersitter said today that it has filed a $2.2 billion, software piracy suit against China, two Chinese software firms, and seven computer manufacturers, over misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, copyright infringement and conspiracy. The lawsuit, filed in the federal court in Los Angeles, is a result of revelations in June that China's controverial "Green Dam" Internet filtering and censorship program included a significant amount of code from Cybersitter's software. A study by researchers at the University of Michigan in June found that a significant amount of code in "Green Dam" was identical to CYBERsitter's software. According to Cybersitter, computer manufacturers named in the lawsuit include Sony, Lenovo, Toshiba, Acer, ASUSTeK, BenQ and Haier. The firm claims over 3,000 lines of code from its Internet content filtering software are included in Green Dam, and that over 56 million copies of its software were distributed throughout China and to Chinese speakers globally.