Apple sues Chinese government agency over Siri patent dispute
Apple has targeted both a Chinese government agency and a Shanghai-based company in a new patent lawsuit related to the ownership of Siri, the voice-driven personal assistant found on iPhone and iPad.
China's State Intellectual Property Office has been slapped with a patent lawsuit from Apple after the government agency failed to invalidate a patent from a Chinese company, according to Xinhua. At issue is Shanghai's Zhizhen Network Technology, which has developed software similar to Apple's own Siri.
Apple previously asked the government agency to invalidate a voice recognition patent owned by Zhizhen, but the intellectual property office declined to do so. The Intermediate People's Court will reportedly hear the case brought forward by Apple on Thursday.
The dispute between Apple and Zhizhen has been ongoing for some time. Apple was sued by Zhizhen last year, in a complaint that accused Siri of being copied from its own "Xiao i Robot" software patented in 2004. A hearing on that complaint was reportedly held last July, but no ruling was handed down.
AFP reached out to Apple seeking a comment regarding the newly filed complaints against Zhizhen and the Chinese government agency, but the Cupertino, Calif., company declined to respond.
A separate, U.S.-based Siri-related lawsuit, which accused Apple of misleading in advertisements on the capabilities of the voice-driven software, was tossed out by a U.S. District Court judge earlier this month.
China's State Intellectual Property Office has been slapped with a patent lawsuit from Apple after the government agency failed to invalidate a patent from a Chinese company, according to Xinhua. At issue is Shanghai's Zhizhen Network Technology, which has developed software similar to Apple's own Siri.
Apple previously asked the government agency to invalidate a voice recognition patent owned by Zhizhen, but the intellectual property office declined to do so. The Intermediate People's Court will reportedly hear the case brought forward by Apple on Thursday.
The dispute between Apple and Zhizhen has been ongoing for some time. Apple was sued by Zhizhen last year, in a complaint that accused Siri of being copied from its own "Xiao i Robot" software patented in 2004. A hearing on that complaint was reportedly held last July, but no ruling was handed down.
AFP reached out to Apple seeking a comment regarding the newly filed complaints against Zhizhen and the Chinese government agency, but the Cupertino, Calif., company declined to respond.
A separate, U.S.-based Siri-related lawsuit, which accused Apple of misleading in advertisements on the capabilities of the voice-driven software, was tossed out by a U.S. District Court judge earlier this month.
Comments
Don't expect any kind of justice in a Chinese court. Apple has to grease the right hands otherwise they will lose.
Apple is the only company who is brave enough to sue China directly. They have enough money to do it, but everybody else is just scared too much of it.
Go Apple!
Don't come here for the accuracy in reporting, but stay for the fisticuffs.
Apple will win this one. The Wall dividing Berlin would never fall? Times are changing, - also in China.
I wish AI had a user selectable filter on all blogs that allowed only upbeat, positive, happy news items through. Sometimes I just don't want negative and / or depressing news! I already don't watch normal TV news for the same reason. I want my head in the sand these days and just want to feel happy
Hope the warm sand does not cook your egg! But I fully agree.
Wait how does a company in China patent something, that is anti-communist, No one is allow to own the rights to anything in china everything is suppose to be free to everyone, it for the common good.
That's interesting. I stopped following the news a few months ago for similar reasons. Life is calmer as a result. Journalism always comes with such an agenda these days, that I grew weary of constantly questioning the motivation behind news reports.
I wish AI had a user selectable filter on all blogs that allowed only upbeat, positive, happy news items through. Sometimes I just don't want negative and / or depressing news! I already don't watch normal TV news for the same reason. I want my head in the sand these days and just want to feel happy
Try this : http://scoopertino.com/apple-stuns-google-unveils-iglass/
Here’s a thought. What happens if someone patents something in, say, the US, and then afterward a Chinese company just steals that patent wholesale and patents it in China? The US company can’t sue in China, because the patent is “valid” there.
Do you say that because of Chinese protectionism?
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Didn't they eventually prevail against Proview?
Didn't they eventually prevail against Proview?
I thought it came down to a payoff.
Apple is the only company who is brave enough to sue China directly. They have enough money to do it, but everybody else is just scared too much of it.
Go Apple!
Please don't get America nuked over a voice command pgrm that doesn't even work.
Much appreciated.