Start-up claims Microsoft China took its code

A start-up says that a microblogging service recently launched by Microsoft in China "rips off" its user interface and also contains a huge percentage of similar code. Plurk, which runs a microblogging service of its own, says more than 80 percent of the code for Microsoft's Juku service appears to be lifted from its service.

"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," Plurk said on its company blog.

A Microsoft representative in the U.S. said the company was looking into the matter. Microsoft launched the Twitter-like Juku service over the past couple of weeks in China, but told various media outlets, including PaidContent.org, that it had no current plans to introduce it in other markets.