Eight years ago, Xiaoi Robot filed a lawsuit against Apple for patent infringement over the voice assistant Siri. Xiaoi Robot is owned by Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co., Ltd., which recently filed a lawsuit with the PRC's Supreme People's Court, demanding that Apple pay more than $ 1.5 billion for patent infringement.
Siri software was created in 2007 and was originally used in text chat services. In 2010, Siri was acquired by Apple for $ 200 million. Subsequently, thanks to a collaboration with Nuance, Siri was turned into a personal assistant.
Shanghai Zhizhen applied for China Invention Patent ZL200410053749.9 for Little i Robot in 2004 and was granted permission in 2009. For several years since 2011, Apple has consistently added the voice assistant Siri to its products, which has become one of the main functions of the iPhone.
Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology is demanding that the PRC's Supreme People's Court impose an injunction against the manufacture, import and sale of iPhone smartphones that infringe patent ZL200410053749.9. The source writes that yesterday the PRC Supreme People's Court granted the injunction petition, while the hearing is ongoing.
If in the end Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology wins the court, then Apple could face a complete ban on iPhone sales in the country.
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