Chinese artist Xiao Yutian has brought telecom service provider China Tietong to court, accusing the telecom company of using four of his paintings as designs on IP telephone cards.

Xiao says China Tietong has harmed his reputation by using his works without permission, changing the layout of some drawings at its sole discretion and not affixing his name on the IP cards.

Xiao completed the four paintings in 2001. Later he found his works appeared on China Tietong's IP telephone with some layout changes.

China Tietong says the telephone card is designed by a company in Henan, so it has nothing to do with the kind of pictures used on the card. A representative from China Tietong says that the company has stopped selling IP cards with the design.

There is no word on when the court will hear the case or when a decision will be reached.