A court in China has ordered Microsoft to stop selling Chinese versions of Windows that include fonts designed by a local company, saying they violate licensing agreements.

According to Reuters, Beijing's Number One Intermediate People's Court issued the ruling this week, stating that the software giant violated licensing agreements with Zhongyi Electronic, a firm that designs Chinese character fonts.

Zhongyi reportedly said that its agreement with Microsoft only allowed the firm to use its intellectual property in Windows 95, but that it was also used in subsequent versions.

Microsoft will have to halt sales of Chinese versions of Windows 98 and XP, along with 2000 and 2003 Windows Server products. It is unclear when this must start, but Microsoft has said it will appeal against the ruling.

"Microsoft respects intellectual property rights. We use third party IPs only when we have a legitimate right to do so," the firm said in a statement.

Ling Xin Yu, the lawyer for Zhongyi, told Reuters: "By winning this case against an internationally well-known company like Microsoft, it shows that China, although still a developing country, is taking positive steps to protect intellectual property rights."