Apple has appeared in a Shanghai court after a
Chinese firm accused the tech giant of copying its software for the Siri
personal assistant service found on iOS devices.
Shanghai's Zhizhen Network Technology Co claims
Apple infringed its patent for voice recognition software, and the two
companies will exchange evidence at a pre-trial hearing, representatives of the
Chinese firm said on Wednesday.
The legal challenge comes after Apple last year paid
$60m to Chinese computer maker Shenzhen Proview Technology to settle a
long-running battle over the "iPad" trademark, whose ownership was
claimed by both companies.
Apple has also come under fire from state media in
recent days over its customer service and return policies.
Zhizhen says it patented its "Xiao i
Robot" software in 2004, while Apple's Siri, which made its debut with the
release of the iPhone 4S in 2011, was first developed in 2007.
Siri, described by Apple as an "intelligent
personal assistant", responds to a user's commands through voice
recognition software.
The Chinese company's product operates in a similar
way and works on Apple's iOS operating system as well as rival Android.
It has wide application in areas including
telecommunications, finance and e-commerce and Zhizhen claims more than 100 million
users in China, according to a statement.
An official of the Shanghai Number One Intermediate
People's Court confirmed the hearing had started, but declined further comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment