Whether I, an English speaker in the US, has visited plurk is irrelevant - they are the leader in this market in Asia, apparently.
Whether it was 'unique' or not, the UI delivered was nearly identical to Plurk's and was obviously a copy.
The idea that MS is not responsible because a third party created this is absurd; a company is responsible for what you purchase and release under their own name. Whomever was responsible for commissioning , accepting or supervising this project obviously should have been aware of existing sites. Clearly, someone failed in a supervisory role here.
Whether it was 'unique' or not, the UI delivered was nearly identical to Plurk's and was obviously a copy.
The idea that MS is not responsible because a third party created this is absurd; a company is responsible for what you purchase and release under their own name. Whomever was responsible for commissioning , accepting or supervising this project obviously should have been aware of existing sites. Clearly, someone failed in a supervisory role here.