A Chinese court has ruled that Microsoft infringed a Chinese software maker's intellectual property rights in a surprise decision that has renewed worries among foreign patent experts about China's management of IPR disputes.

中国一家法院作出令人意外的判决，裁定微软(Microsoft)侵犯了中国一家软件制造商的知识产权。这一判决重新激起外国专利专家对于中国处理知识产权纠纷的担忧。

Microsoft's use of two Chinese fonts developed by Zhongyi Electronic, a Beijing-based software company, was not covered by a licence agreement between the two, the Beijing No 1 Intermediary People's Court said in a verdict, and therefore infringed Zhongyi's intellectual property rights.

北京市第一中级法院在判决书中称，微软使用北京中易中标公司(Zhongyi Electronic)开发的两种中文字体，并不包含在两家公司签署的授权协议之中，因而侵犯了中易的知识产权。

Once the ruling takes effect, Microsoft must stop selling all PC operating systems that use the fonts including the Chinese language editions of the second edition of Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

判决一经生效，微软必须停止销售所有使用相关字体的电脑操作系统，包括中文版的Windows98第二版、Windows 2000、Windows XP和Windows Server 2003。

Microsoft said it believed its licence agreements with the plaintiff covered its use of the fonts in question and it would appeal against the verdict: “Microsoft respects intellectual property rights. We use third party IPs only when we have a legitimate right to do so.”

微软表示，该公司认为，其与原告的授权协议，覆盖了对相关字体的使用权。该公司表示将提起上诉：“微软尊重知识产权。我们只有在拥有合法权利时，才会使用第三方知识产权。”

Zhongyi said the verdict had highlighted that every Chinese- language Windows operating system included Chinese intellectual property rights because the Chinese character database and Chinese language input system were developed by locals.

中易表示，此项判决突显出，中文字库和中文输入法是中国人研制的，因此每一套中文版Windows操作系统都含有中国的知识产权。

“It can be said that the support from the Chinese character database and the input system are a pillar for the windfall profits Microsoft is extracting from China,” Zhongyi said.

中易表示：“可以说，中文字库和中文输入法对Windows中文操作系统的支持，是美国微软公司在中国获取巨额利润的桥梁。”

Microsoft has a long history of fighting for the protection of its own intellectual property rights in China as the lion's share of the operating systems used on the country's computers are pirated versions.

在中国，微软长期以来一直在为?；ぷ约旱闹恫ǘ氛?，因为在中国的电脑上安装的操作系统大部分是盗版的。