Monday, January 9, 2012

Eltek: Major Chinese Firm Copied Software, Product

Eltek, the manufacturer of high efficiency power supplies for the telecom and other markets, said today that it has sued a "major" Chinese company for intellectual property infringement. Eltek said it had discovered that the Chinese firm illegally copied Eltek's menus and software, documentation, and datasheets. Eltek said the lawsuit was more under principle than finances--the firm said it the financial damage caused by the infringement was "modest". According to Eltek, the "major Chinese company" based in Southern China makes a rectifier product which is functionally equivalent to one of its own product, to the point of containing hidden menus and passwords known only to Eltek. China has a record of less-than-stellar intellectual property protection laws; three, entire, fake Apple stores were even uncovered in China last year in the province of Kunming.