Green Dam software actually pirated?

So not only is the Green Dam firewall software filled with whopping security flaws, it now looks like it's not even original code. The Jinhui Computer System Engineering Company, creator of Green Dam, is now being accused of using stolen intellectual property from the American firm Solid Oak Software.

The Green Dam software is meant to filter the web and mainly focuses on porn. According to Solid Oak, the Chinese company has taken substantial amounts of the its software, CYBERsitter, which also helps filter smut.

Solid Oak's PR manager, Jenna DiPasquale said the company received an anonymous tip off on Thursday. As she told vnunet.com:

"It is 100 per cent without a doubt our code that is included," said Jenna DiPasquale, Solid Oak's PR manager.

"It seems the majority of software is used, but it contains other code too. At this point what we're focusing on is stopping US companies from shipping PCs to China with the software installed."

It is also accused of using open source code without proper attribution.

Moreover, the government's insistence that Green Dam software be installed on every PC sold in China may pose a threat to U.S. computer makers as well, who could be liable for knowingly using something that is infringing on another company's IP. According to InformationWeek:

...the company's attorney was in the process of contacting U.S. computer makers to alert them to potential liability arising from the unauthorized use of CYBERsitter code.

Zhang Chenmin, general manager of Jinhui denies that the company has copied any codes from CYBERsitter, telling China Daily:

"I cannot deny that the two filters' databases of blacklisted URL addresses might share similarities. After all, they are all well known international pornographic websites that all porn-filters are meant to block," Zhang said. "But we didn't steal their programming code."

Photo by *Tall Guy*