In startling news, Microsoft today admitted that the code behind its Chinese micro-blogging site Zuku is partly stolen material. With this curtains descend on Zuku for an indefinite period. Microsoft has issued a public apology to users as well as Plurk, from whom the code-lifting was done.
Plurk, a Canadian micro-blogging start up alleges that Microsoft (MSN China) has carbon copied around 80% of their code-base. Not only the look and feel of the site has been duplicated but the working code and data structures are exact replicas of Plurks’. Calling it a “Broad Daylight Robbery”, Plurk feels ‘incredulous” that market leaders like Microsoft are resorting to code robbery.
Microsoft issued a public statement over this shameful event. According to them –
The vendor has now acknowledged that a portion of the code they provided was indeed copied. This was in clear violation of the vendor’s contract with the MSN China joint venture, and equally inconsistent with Microsoft’s policies respecting intellectual property.
Did not the Plurk guys say, its somewhere near 80% code theft? In that case the “portion” that Microsoft mentions must be a very big portion actually.
So the blame is now on the third party vendor. What is the truth only god knows or may be Microsoft knows. Initially tech bloggers and Taiwanese users of Zuku reported the similarities between Plurk and Zuku. After a deep digging by Plurk team the truth is out.
Snapshots Provided by Plurk
