Apple Accused By A Chinese Firm For Infringing Software Used In Siri

Apple appeared in a Shanghai Court Wednesday over a patent suit filed by a Chinese firm claiming Apple's Siri, the voice-activated assistant for iPhones and iPads, is based on its software and breached its copyrights, a local Shanghai Daily newspaper reported.

Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Company accused Apple Inc. for using its software in developing Siri and breaching the copyrights over the Chinese developed software "Xiao i Robot."

"Apple has unveiled more products with the Siri application after we filed the lawsuit," said Yuan Yang, Zhizhen's lawyer. "We think all the above products infringed the patent right of 'Xiao i Robot' voice recognition software."

Apple denied the accusations made by the Chinese firm saying that its Siri application does not breach the patent and asked the court to dismiss the case. Apple applied to China's State Intellectual Property Office to invalidate the Chinese patent. The court rejected Apple's request but offered another hearing after a month to present more evidence from both sides.

Zhizhen wants Apple to stop all products with Siri application including iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPad mini. The Chinese company said it will be seeking financial settlement post the confirmation of the patent rights from the court.

Mei Li, a spokesperson from Zhizhen, said that Zhizhen has been developing the Xiao i Robot software much before Apple included the Siri application in its devices. According to Li, the company applied for patent rights over its Xiao i Robot in 2004 and got it confirmed two years later. She said Siri was developed in 2007 and later Apple acquired Siri in 2010 and included the software in its iPhone 4S model in 2011.

A report from Enlish Eastday said that the Chinese networking company sent letters to the Apple Computer Trading Company and Apple Inc. in 2012 to settle the dispute without legal involvement. Due to no response from Apple, Zhizhen forcefully filed a lawsuit June 21, 2012 demanding that Apple stop manufacturing devices with Siri application in China.

According to another AFP report, Zhizhen's Xiao i Robot software is widely used in China with more than 100 million users and the company has the software available for web, Android, Windows Phone and iOS operating systems.

According to the Zhizhen's representatives, both parties will appear for a full case hearing in July.

"We surely have confidence, our lawyers also told us they have confidence, but of course we will have to see how the judge will rule," Li told AFP.