Zhang Hongfu, a former engineer with Tetra Pak China Ltd. -- one of the world's largest suppliers of beverage packaging systems -- filed a lawsuit against his former employer, claiming that the Sweden-headquartered firm had illegally sealed off his private files and mails on the office computer.

The court said yesterday it has accepted the case but set no hearing date.

Zhang, an environment protection researcher, worked on a recycling project for Tetra Pak since May 1998. When he resigned from the position in July, the company locked up his computer, denying him access to private information from his mailbox as well as his reports in the machine, according to the lawsuit.

Zhang claimed that the equipment was the company's property, but the files and mails belonged to him. Therefore, the company had no right over his electronic materials. Also, many of his documents were innovative case studies and researches, which could qualify for intellectual property rights.

The company countered that it had just shut the e-mail function of Zhang's computer and that he had enough time to handle the files during the six-week dismissal process.

"Moreover, Zhang served the company for four years. All his researches and studies were based on the company's resources and capital, as a result, the owner of the files should be the company," said Li Shaocong of Tetra Pak.

Zhang's case has aroused a hot debate among judges on the ownership of documents in office computers and whether the dispute should be classified as a violation of property rights or copyrights.

Court officials pointed out that such cases were very rare and too complicated to rule on because presently there's no specific law concerning computer files in China.

Court officials are also trying to find similar cases home and abroad for reference, said Li Hongguang, a spokesman for the Jing'an court.

"With economic and technology development, there will be more cases involving electronic files. The country should include these issues to fill in the legal loopholes," said Li.

(eastday.com December 12, 2002)