Chinese court orders Microsoft to stop some Windows sales

Microsoft has been accused of exceeding its rights under licensing agreements with Zhongyi Electronic Ltd., a Beijing company that developed Chinese character fonts used in the software. Microsoft must therefore stop selling versions of Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 with Zhongyi's fonts, said the court.

According to Zhongyi, its agreement with Microsoft only allowed the Seattle-based company to use its fonts in Windows 95 but they were found in subsequent software releases. Zhongyi accuses Microsoft of adding its Chinese characters in later products without permission.

Microsoft did not disclose about what proportion of its products sold in China use Zhongyi fonts or how many copies might be affected but the software maker said it will appeal the court order.

"Microsoft respects intellectual property rights. We use third party IPs only when we have a legitimate right to do so," the company said in a statement. "We believe our license agreements with the plaintiff cover our use of the fonts."

China is notorious for its growing software piracy problem with the government being accused of not doing enough to curb the underground industry. China's small but ambitious technology companies say they are among the biggest victims of piracy and are turning to the courts to help defend their intellectual property.

In December, 11 people who were found guilty of selling unlicensed copies of Microsoft software were sentenced by a Chinese court to up to 6 1/2 years in prison.