Chipmaking giant Intel's Chinese competitor yesterday stood accused of infringing the intellectual property rights of the US software firm in a court in  southern city of Shenzhen.

The case hinges on a dispute over the compatibility of some of Shenzhen Donjin Communication Technology Co Ltd's products with Intel's software.

This compatibility means that users of Intel's communications cards can switch to Donjin's products without needing to alter their existing programs.

Although Intel condemned this as illegal, Donjin defended its move, which it said it took merely for the convenience of its customers.

The case began in December 2004 when Intel took Donjin to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Intel claimed that Donjin had copied the header files from its Inter Dialogic Systems Release 5.1.1 software (SR5.1.1) used in circuit boards running touch-pad telephone systems.

Donjin is accused of using the header files in its NADK software, distributing it to its customers and telling them to download SR5.1.1 from the Internet.

Intel has requested the court to slap a permanent injunction on Donjin prohibiting it from either the manufacture or sale of the products in question.

But Donjin hit back, claiming that Intel has offered insufficient evidence to back up its allegation.

The firm's lawyer, Jiang Hongyi, told a press conference that Donjin claimed to own all of the copyrights of its products and denied that its software contained Intel header files.

Donjin Marketing Director Zhang Suzhen added that the firm ploughed over 10 per cent of its annual sales revenue back into research and development every year, adding that this work involved almost 80 per cent of the company's staff.

Jiang added that a question mark hung over Intel's copyright on the disputed software, since it only registered this on December 6, 2004, a mere 14 days before the start of the case.

Jiang added that the NADK software, which had its copyright registered in 2003, targeted Intel customers legally permitted to use the header files and who do not need to acquire the same files again.

In addition, it was groundless for Intel to seek compensation of US$7.96 million, a figure based on Intel's own estimate of Donjin's market share in China, Jiang contended.

Jiang said no evidence had been provided to prove that the header files on the company's web forum were posted by members of Donjin's staff. Donjin does not offer any instructions to its customers on how to download the files.

The lawsuit showed that Intel was trying to limit the market share of its Chinese rivals in the computer technology integration (CTI) market. He added that Intel's protocol strictly limits its competitors and customers, creating a monopoly in the industry.

As one of the three major market players along with US firms Intel and NMS, Donjin, which has expanded into the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia since 2003, poses a threat to the US firm.

Zhang said Donjin's sales, which accounted for 20 per cent in the Chinese market in 2003, had notched up an annual growth of 100 per cent from 2000 to 2003.

(China Daily March 25, 2005)