When iphone13 will coming soon, Apple is in trouble again.
On September 7, Xiaoi robot official WeChat release the message that on September 3, Xiaoi robot (Shanghai Xiaoi Robot Technology Co., Ltd.) has make an application for behavior preservation (ban) to the Shanghai High People's Court, asked apple to immediately stop involving siri patent infringement, stop production, sales, sales promise, import, use the infringement of ZL200410053749.9 invention patent of iphone products.
Yuan Hui, founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaoi Robot, said: "Apple continues to manufacture and sell infringing products regardless of the infringing facts, this behavior is not to respect intellectual property rights. Apple should immediately stop infringing, remove and stop its shelves and selling related products.”
The reporter learned that the Shanghai High Court has received an application for the xiaoi robot, and the case is still in the process of trial, the Morning News reported.
It is worth noting that, since 2012, the lawsuit between Xiaoi Robot and Apple has played 10 years. Last year, August 3, Xiaoi Robot formally conducting prosecution to the Shanghai higher people's court, asking Apple to stop siri patent infringement, including but not limited to require Apple to stop manufacturing, use, promised sales, sales, imports of ZL200410053749.9 invention patent products, and temporary claim amount of 10 billion yuan.
Ten Years Litigation Between Xiaoi Robot and Apple
Xiaoi Robot was founded in Shanghai in 2001, according to its official website.
In 2010, Apple bought Siri.Inc. for $200 million, and first launched siri, a smart personal assistant service, on its released iphone 4s phone in 2011. Later followed by Siri in iphone5, ipad3, ipad4, ipad mini, itouch4, and more. According to the comparative analysis of Xiaoi Robot, the Siri technology scheme falls into the scope of ZL200410053749 no. 9 patent (applied in 2004 and authorized in 2009), where Xiaoi Robot fully has independent intellectual property rights.
According to previous reports, after the launch of Apple siri, the company, after a period of investigation and evidence collection, judged that Apple did violate the patent rights.In June 2012, Xiaoi Robot filed a lawsuit with the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court against Apple Computer Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Apple Corporation for patent infringement.
In the field of intellectual property litigation, it is not uncommon for one party to file an infringement lawsuit and the other party to confirm the patent right invalidation lawsuit, and this time is no exception. Apple then filed an application to the Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office to void the patent.
The two sides have been involved in patent litigation disputes for many years.
The Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office made a decision in September 2013 to keep the patent valid. Apple then sued the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court to revoke the decision made by the Patent Reexamination Committee of the State Intellectual Property Office. After losing the first instance, Apple appealed to the Beijing High Court, which changed the lawsuit and made the patent invalid.
This time, Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co., Ltd. refused to accept it and filed an administrative retrial to the Supreme People's Court.In December 2016, the Supreme Court ruled to retrial the case.In March 2020, the Supreme Court issued a final judgment, upholding the judgment of the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court, indicating that the litigation-related patent was valid. So, Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co., Ltd. once again began to Sue Apple for infringement.
In response to the Shanghai Zhizhen lawsuit, Apple issued a statement in August 2020 saying, " The Siri does not include the features of its patent, which is related to games and instant messaging. We were disappointed that Xiaoi Robot filed another lawsuit. An independent appraisal agency certified by the Supreme People's Court also concluded that Apple did not violate Xiaoi Robot's technology.”
Can $10 billion in claims be achieved?
What is the Xiaoi Robot? According to Qixinbao, Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co., Ltd. was established in August 2009, with a registered capital of 22.115 million yuan. It was listed on the NEEQ（National Equities Exchange and Quotations) concept stock in December 2015. The stock is referred to as Zhizhen Intelligence, and it was not listed on the NEEQ in April 2018.
According to Xiaoi Robot's official website, the company's main investors include Alibaba, Geely Holding Group and Broad Holdings.
The case between the Xiaoi Robot and Apple is more concerned about the 10 billion yuan of claims.
In an interview last year, a lawyer representing Shanghai Zhizhen said, "According to the relevant national laws, the first-instance case with the target amount of more than 5 billion yuan is under the jurisdiction of the Shanghai High People's Court, so we submitted the filing materials to the Shanghai High Court." The 10 billion yuan is a relatively low claim amount preliminary calculated according to relevant laws and regulations, and the specific claim amount may still change.
"As for whether the Siri falls into the patent protection scope of the Xiaoi Robot, many people believe that the patent is invalid, but the application of the patent should be demonstrated from the nature of the technology. The judgment of the Supreme Law also shows that the patent of Xiaoi Robot technology is very clear." Said the lawyer.
According to our patent law, patent infringement liability includes cessation of infringement and compensation. If Siri is convicted of infringement, Apple is at risk of compensation and sales bans.