iPhone 6 found to violate design patents of rival in China [Update]
- jun
- 17
Update: Apple notes in a statement that its phones are still on sale in Beijing pending a review by the city's intellectual property court.
"IPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone SE models are all available for sale today in China," Apple said in a statement Friday. "We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court."
Original story: The Beijing intellectual property authority has ruled that Apple has violated the design patents of a Chinese smartphone maker, Shenzhen Baili, with the design of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Those devices are supposedly too similar to Shenzhen Baili's 100c phone, an Android handset.
For reference, this is the 100c, with these images coming from Chinese regulatory agency TENAA:
Apple is facing a sales ban in Beijing if the ruling holds, though the company is appealing it. From Bloomberg:
Apple, which is expected to introduce its next-generation iPhone in the fall, can try to stave off a sales ban by appealing in several venues, including the Beijing Higher People's Court and the Supreme People's Court, Bird and Bird partner and IP specialist Ted Chwu said.
This isn't the first odd intellectual property ruling against Apple in China in recent weeks. The company recently lost the exclusive rights to the "iPhone" trademark in the country, allowing companies to create non-smartphone products using the name 'iPhone.'