Apple Sued By Chinese Company For Violating Patents

Siri illustration (Apple)

JAKARTA - An artificial intelligence (AI) company made by China, Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co Ltd, also known as Xiao-i Robot, filed a patent lawsuit against Apple. They accuse Apple of violating patents on Siri smart assistant technology.

Quoted from Slashgear, Tuesday, August 4, the lawsuit was submitted to the Chinese Court. The Xiao-i Robot argues that Apple's speech recognition technology violates a patent it filed in 2004.

Xiao-i Robot is suing for damages totaling 1.4 billion US dollars so that Apple stops using, selling and importing products that violate patents. In response to this, Apple will appeal the software in court.

"This case has been going on for 8 years. Siri does not contain features included in their patents, which are related to games and instant messages," said an Apple spokesman.

"The independent appraiser who was certified by the Supreme People's Court also concluded that Apple did not violate the Xiao I Robot technology," he continued.

The lawsuit is not the first that the two companies have had over this particular patent. Xiao-i Robot originally filed a complaint in 2012, but Apple filed a request promising that it would not use the patent.

Discussions over whether the patent is valid have been going on for eight years, but last month China's Supreme People's Court ruled in favor of Xiao-i, reversing a decision previously reached by the Beijing High Court.

Xiao-i Robot uses this latest decision as fuel to renew its original patent infringement claim. The company, which specializes in natural language processing, said it had filed a formal complaint with the Shanghai High Court.

It is known, Apple has long been trying to woo the Chinese market, the second largest after the US, and they have even made compromises that would not even be considered in other countries.

However, given the tensions between the US and Chinese governments, the Cupertino-based company may feel like it's a waste. Because it doesn't help that Apple continues to be bombarded with lawsuits such as patent matters.