State-owned Chinese film studio sues Apple for $500,000 over App Store downloads
Tensions between Apple and China's government appeared to mount on Friday, with news emerging of a state-owned film production company having filed suit against the iPhone maker, seeking just over half a million dollars in damages.
Shanghai Animation is suing Apple, alleging improper downloads of films such as The Monkey King, pictured above.
Shanghai Animation Film Studio, the studio behind popular animated films such as The Monkey King, claims Apple has infringed its intellectual property rights by providing unauthorized download services in the App Store. The South China Morning Post reports (via Hollywood Reporter) that the suit was filed with the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, and that the court accepted the case.
The suit names Apple and its Chinese subsidiary, Apple Electronics Products Commerce (Beijing), as defendants claiming that they infringed on more than 110 of Shanghai Animation's titles, including Calabash Brothers and Black Cat Detective.
Shanghai Animation executives aren't saying much about the case.
"We want to keep tight-lipped on this case because, as we see it, it's just a litigation in which we want to get compensation [for our product]," one executive told South China Morning Post. "It's a sensitive period now since Apple is a big multinational company and it is surrounded by controversies on its practices in China."
The new case comes shortly after the Chinese government began ratcheting up pressure on Apple over its warranty policies. On Thursday, reports emerged that China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce had recommended that authorities take action against Apple over its after-sales service.
The recommendation had no specifics on what Apple had done wrong or how to fix its situation. It came, though, at the end of more than a week of reportedly coordinated attacks on Apple's image from government-connected sources.
Earlier this week, Apple made its first appearance in a Chinese court, this time on the receiving end of a patent suit. Another Chinese company alleges that Apple's Siri digital assistant infringes on patents that it has held since 2006.
Shanghai Animation is suing Apple, alleging improper downloads of films such as The Monkey King, pictured above.
Shanghai Animation Film Studio, the studio behind popular animated films such as The Monkey King, claims Apple has infringed its intellectual property rights by providing unauthorized download services in the App Store. The South China Morning Post reports (via Hollywood Reporter) that the suit was filed with the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, and that the court accepted the case.
The suit names Apple and its Chinese subsidiary, Apple Electronics Products Commerce (Beijing), as defendants claiming that they infringed on more than 110 of Shanghai Animation's titles, including Calabash Brothers and Black Cat Detective.
Shanghai Animation executives aren't saying much about the case.
"We want to keep tight-lipped on this case because, as we see it, it's just a litigation in which we want to get compensation [for our product]," one executive told South China Morning Post. "It's a sensitive period now since Apple is a big multinational company and it is surrounded by controversies on its practices in China."
The new case comes shortly after the Chinese government began ratcheting up pressure on Apple over its warranty policies. On Thursday, reports emerged that China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce had recommended that authorities take action against Apple over its after-sales service.
The recommendation had no specifics on what Apple had done wrong or how to fix its situation. It came, though, at the end of more than a week of reportedly coordinated attacks on Apple's image from government-connected sources.
Earlier this week, Apple made its first appearance in a Chinese court, this time on the receiving end of a patent suit. Another Chinese company alleges that Apple's Siri digital assistant infringes on patents that it has held since 2006.
Comments
Apart from that, Sun Wu Kong's awesome.
Not investing, okthxbye.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Selva Raj
Now Apple at Receiving End?
Receiving end of what? Did that change from the 'giving end'? When? Where? How?
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
Receiving end of what? Did that change from the 'giving end'? When? Where? How?
SORRY BROTHER I MEAN BAD NAME
that or have them 'removed' ...
China is now suing over IP because some knock-off company grabs the crap from what came out in another country, and then they patent their with their home team.
Of course, it's not like our own capitalists aren't corrupt -- they just happen to be on Wall Street and playing the money game; no product and you can't lose. Apple of course, has been thinking all these years about just making the best products -- they had to learn to lawyer up by all the beatings Microsoft gave them using their own IP against them.
Apple needs to realize this is a game they can't win.... unless they get creative.
Perhaps some corrupt official in China needs to get a document dump on Wikileaks -- anonymously.
OMG, it's Ballmer!
China. The new world order. At least in the eyes of all rich chinese politicians.
I agree, perhaps 'Guy Fawkes' and his team are Apple users and will help
A campaign this coordinated is not the result of a cabal of corrupt officials who are miffed that they didn't get their cut. For all we know, some high-ranking officials may have asked Mr. Cook for a consideration a while ago which he declined to give. Perhaps this is to bolster the negotiating positions of Chinese telecoms in iPhone negotiations. Apple could even be the pawn in a quiet, back-room disagreement between China and the U.S. They simply aren't telling the public. (It's not their way, and they don't see how it would benefit them.) We simply (as if it's simple for Cupertino!) have to wait for the other shoe to drop.
Ah but remember Hong Kong is their experiment with capitalism left over from the Brits ... ... Seriously though, is the level of piracy country wide or concentrated there?
Tim Cook should visit India and be accidentally photographed meeting with a few people while smiling profusely. End of problems in China.
So China will either have to grow up and be fair -- or they will merely promote the most corrupt corporation -- and who do they steal from when they are on top? Innovation will stall or more of it will be shrouded behind a firewall and every product gets tied to a "cloud" as if we even had a use for that -- but really, these "cloud moves" and "software services" are about putting the technology BEHIND a locked door -- so that you are tied to the company synergistically, and the widget in your hand is useless without the secret ingredient.I'm not quite sure where all this is going -- but there are going to be growing pains. This turf war with Apple is only the start. Once more figure out that they can make more money suing than creating -- and the infrastructure is just getting modernized away from cheap labor and dirty coal, the people are going to want to see some of the benefits from all their years of sacrifice. Costs will rise with expectations, and crooked administrators will start competing with other crooked administrators and fat cat corporate execs. The PRODUCTIVE technology workers will probably not be so naive and willing to slave away for little reward. The NEXT WAVE I think in China will be an exodus of their more innovative people and groups to set up shop in countries that are less corrupt,... obviously, not Samsung or this state owned film studio; they are perfectly adapted but cannot be too successful because their business model is based on taking the ideas of others. **** I'm sorry people, I can't get the text editor on this blog to put in a return character -- I've tried HTML code -- is there something I'm missing? *****
Quote:
Originally Posted by lightknight
Well, sounds like China really wants something from Apple. Time to head out of the country?
Apart from that, Sun Wu Kong's awesome.
Before that would have been hard since China won't export the needed rare earth metals. Tactic to force production into the country.
but a huge cache was just discovered in Japan
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fake_William_Shatner
Obviously Apple is going to have to revisit that policy of not bribing government officials.
Obviously nothing of the sort. Why should Apple stoop to that slimy level, rather than move their work to other places. And get enforceable bans blocking even private 'import' of Apple products, close the official stores etc.