The Beijing No1 Intermediate People’s Court, where the complaint has been filed, hasn’t yet set a date for hearing.
The case filed by Beijing-based company involves Microsoft’s use of Zhengma, a Chinese input method (IME) that allows Internet users to type in Chinese in Roman alphabet, which is then transcribed into Chinese characters.
The transliteration software is the core product of Zhongyi, which has about 100 employees. Zhongyi has not yet provided a litigation target, as the company said it does not know how many sets of Windows operating systems are in use.
Zhongyi General Manager Lan Dekang told Xinhua that Microsoft has installed Zhengma IME and fonts in its Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems.
“Microsoft hasn’t paid us for ten years after 1998 when they last paid for using Zhengma in Windows 95,” said Mr Lan, adding that Microsoft hasn’t signed contracts for the commercial use of the fonts or the IME for Zhengma.
