nsane.forums Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 The patent suits keep coming for Apple in China. This time, Zhizhen Network Technology is suing Apple for infringing on its patent for an instant messaging chat bot system, and the culprit is Siri. A developer of a voice assistant application, Zhizhen Network Technology of Shanghai, China, has sued both Apple and its Shanghai subsidiary, Apple Computer Trading, claiming that Apple's Siri technology infringes on a patent it holds related to "a type of instant messaging chat bot system" that Zhizhen calls Xiaoi Bot. Siri, of course, is the voice-activated personal assistant that features prominently in iOS. A video of a recent version of Xiaoi Bot in action can be seen below. The similarities are readily apparent, down to the almost identical microphone button. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZyD8-T-C0I Zhizhen's patent (ZL200410053749.9) was filed on August 13, 2004 and granted on February 15, 2006. Zhizhen claims that it contacted Apple in May 2012 in an attempt to settle the issue with Apple out of court, according to Marbridge Daily, which was first to report the case. Apple reportedly failed to respond, leading Zhizhen to file suit in a Shanghai court on June 21, 2012. On June 26, the courts announced that they will hear the case. The lawsuit apparently does not request damages in any amount. However, a Zhizhen representative said that if the courts find that Apple did indeed infringe on Zhizhen's patent with Siri, or if Apple agrees to a settlement, the payment will likely be an even greater amount than the $60 million USD that Apple paid to settle its iPad trademark dispute with Proview. View: Original Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted July 6, 2012 Administrator Share Posted July 6, 2012 One word: Karma. For all that Apple has done, it's now on the receiving end. First they had to pay for iPad name settlement, recently a company sued Apple for their OS name (I believe it's snow leopard) and now this, which, if true, is a shameless copy by Apple. Guess the the suing game isn't fun anymore for Apple? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ck_kent Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 This just goes to prove that what Apple have been doing already existed in some way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuthut Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 The Simpsons did it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threejay Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Bollocks. Based on my long-time experience with the Chinese market, you can't trust Chinese paperwork; it might have been "created" retroactively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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