Continuing to be sued by China for Siri patents, Apple risks losing US $ 1.4 billion

The dispute surrounding Apple’s illegal use of Chinese patents in Siri continues with new developments. This time, the Chinese side asked Apple to pay damages of up to $ 1.43 billion, and in the worst case, the US tech giant is most likely banned in the world’s largest market.

Eight years have passed since the first time the Chinese company Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology has sued Apple, and the two have to meet again in court. The company insists that Apple has violated its patents, and called on the court to issue a ruling to prevent Apple from selling its devices in China.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology has filed a lawsuit worth 10 billion yuan to a court in Shanghai. The company now owns a patent for a virtual assistant that, according to them, is similar to Siri.

Previously, Beijing’s No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court ruled in 2014 that Apple violated a patent for speech recognition. However, Apple filed an appeal, and a year later, the Beijing High People’s Court ruled that Apple did not infringe the patent.

The latest case follows a qyueets judgment in late June 2020 by the Chinese Supreme Court, which claimed that Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology actually owns a patent for a virtual assistant. In the years since the original lawsuit, Apple has been increasingly bringing Siri deeper and wider into its devices, so much so that any bans if given would impact every product. of the company, except for Apple Pencil.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the probability of the ban happening is very low. However, it is possible that Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology may ask the court to issue a preliminary ban. It is also difficult to succeed, because the conditions required to get a preliminary ban are very strict. But if successful, that means Apple will not be able to sell products in China for the duration of the lawsuit.

After the US and Europe, China is the market with the most significant contribution to Apple’s revenue. In its most recent financial report, Apple said it earned $ 9,329 billion in revenue in the market in the second quarter of 2020.

Reference: AppleInsider