14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has taken down a Windows Live Messenger-based service it recently unveiled in China faced with allegations that it stole the code for the website. The owners of Plurk , an immensely popular microblogging service and social network in China are firing all guns at the Redmond company, accusing the software giant of ripping off not just design elements but also actual code.
“Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but blatant theft of code, design, and UI elements is just not cool, especially when the infringing party is the biggest software company in the world. Yes, we’re talking about Microsoft,” a Plurk representative noted.
Microsoft reacted fast to allegations and notes that it is investigating questions over MSN China joint venture’s Juku feature. For the time being, as the internal review is ongoing, the Redmond company has discontinued access to Juku. No word yet from Microsoft as to when it plans to go live with Juku again.
“We were absolutely shocked and outraged when we first saw with our own eyes the cosmetic similarities Microsoft’s new offering had with Plurk. From the filter tabs, emoticons, qualifier/verb placement, Karma scoring system, media support, new user walkthroughs to pretty much everything else that gives Plurk its trademark appeal, Microsoft China’s offering ripped off our service,” the plurk representative added.
The Redmond company recently acknowledged that code for the free Windows 7 UBB/DVD Download Tool had been lifted from an open source project and used while breaking the GPLv2 (GNU General Public License, version 2) in the process. Microsoft’s explanation was that the tool had been developed by a third-party, and not by the company’s own developers. After the issue became public, the Windows 7 UBB/DVD Download Tool was taken down, modified, open sourced under GPLv2 and subsequently made available for download. With Juku, Microsoft is also tossing the blame on a third-party that helped develop the microblogging service.
“Here’s what we know at this point. Our MSN China joint venture contracted with an independent vendor to create a feature called MSN Juku that allowed MSN users to find friends via microblogging and online games. This MSN Juku feature was made available to MSN China users in November and is still in beta. Because questions have been raised about the code base comprising the service, MSN China will be suspending access to the Juku beta feature temporarily while we investigate the matter fully. We will provide additional information as we learn more,” the company revealed in a statement.
At this point in time, Microsoft has not admitted that it has indeed lifted code from Plurk, or explained the design similarities of Juku. “On closer inspection, we found that MUCH of the codebase and data structures that Microsoft’s MClub uses are identical snapshots of our code. Microsoft has taken Plurk’s custom developed libraries, css files and client code and just ported them directly over to their service without any attempt to even mask this,” the Plurk member added.
