[JURIST] Chinese company Zhongyi Electronic [corporate website] sued Microsoft [corporate website; JURIST news archive] Friday in Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court claiming that Microsoft has been using a technology that converts Roman characters to Chinese characters without paying Zhongyi a license fee for the program. Microsoft has denied the allegations, saying Friday that it has fully performed its obligations and complied with its license agreements with Zhongyi.

The new lawsuit against Microsoft comes just days after the European Commission announced that it was investigating two new allegations [JURIST news archive] that Microsoft abused its dominant market position regarding a range of Internet and operating system software. The European Union investigation extends principles from the EC's 2004 landmark ruling [JURIST report] requiring the software giant to share technical information with competitors. Microsoft has subsequently dropped its appeal to the 2004 ruling and plans to fully comply with the new investigation. Microsoft has also faced significant antitrust investigations in South Korea, and in October 2007, the company said it would drop its appeal [JURIST report] of penalties assessed for Microsoft's abuse of its dominant position in that market. Reuters has more.