Did Microsoft China Copy Plurk?

Plurk, a Taiwan based micro-blogging site claims that Microsoft China has stolen its codes, design and user interface. Based on the screenshots provided by Plurk (see below), theft is probably the right word to use.

If this proves to be true, it would be an irony, since Microsoft has been fighting hard against software piracy.

A Microsoft spokeswoman commented:

“Of course, it should be noted that Plurk itself isn’t an especially original service, borrowing heavily from a concept pioneered by Twitter, right down to the 140-character limit on messages that Plurk users can publish.

Dave Thompson, a New Zealand-based spokesman for Plurk, concedes in a phone interview that Plurk was “inspired by Twitter” but says the site has a more “whimsical” feel with features that aren’t currently available on the rival service — like a method of organizing user messages along a horizontal timeline.”

Screenshots

There is a difference between learning from others and blatant copying. From what it seems, Microsoft doesn’t even bother to make it appear like it is not doing the latter. This doesn’t reflect very well on Microsoft, does it?

Let us know what you think via comments below.

Via: WSJ