Chinese AI company wants Apple to halt iPhone production over patent infringement claims

Ahead of next week’s Apple event, which is expected to include the launch of the iPhone 13 line, a Chinese AI company is asking a court to stop production and sale of the iPhone in China, alleging that Siri infringes its patent, South China Morning Post reports.

Apple last year received a $ 1.4 billion lawsuit from Chinese firm AI Xiao-i Robot, which claims that Apple infringed the patent of a virtual assistant similar to ‌Siri‌. At the time, the firm had asked Apple to stop “manufacturing, using, promising to sell, sell and import” all products that “infringe” its patent, which would include all devices with ‌Siri‌.

In the latest escalation of its lawsuit, Xiao-i-Robot has asked a Shanghai court to force Apple to end production and sales of the “iPhone”. The AI ​​company announced that it had requested a preliminary ban on its WeChat account just hours before Apple announced its “California Streaming” event for Tuesday, September 14th.

Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology, also known as Xiao-i Robot, filed a preliminary order with the Shanghai People’s High Court last Friday to ban the manufacture, sale and export of Siri-containing iPhones that infringe its patent. according to the Chinese company. statement posted Tuesday on his official WeChat account.

Xiao-i CEO Yuan Hui said in the statement that Apple did not respect its intellectual property. “Apple should immediately stop the infringement, eliminate and stop selling related products,” Yuan said.

If the court grants the Xiao-i-Robot ban, it could significantly affect Apple’s supply chain. While a ruling is unlikely to directly affect the launch of iPhone 13 this month, it could affect future iPhone‌ releases.

Apple, in a statement to South China Morning Post reiterated that ‌Siri‌ does not “contain features included in its patent, related to games and instant messaging” and further noted that local certified Chinese appraisers have “concluded that Apple does not infringe on Xiao-i-Robot technology.” .