Well, after settling with Proview for its iPad name, Apple appears to have bought two more lawsuits over its intellectual property in China. Thursday, a company named Zhi Zhen Internet Technology sued Apple over Siri. Zhi Zhen alleges that Siri infringes its voice assistant service patents named Ziao i Robot. According to reports, Zhi Zhen applied for its patent in 2004. Apple recently announced adding Mandarin and Cantonese versions of Siri which undoubtedly is what caught Zhi Zhen's attention. Of course, the recent $ 60 million settlement with Proview must have caught Zhi Zhen's eye, as well.
Jiangsu Xuebao is also suing Apple for allegedly infringing its Snow Leopard trademark. Apparently, Jiangsu registered the Chinese equivalent of Snow Leopard in 2000. In 2008, Apple tried to register that same word, but the Chinese trademark authority refused to register that name. Presumably, the denial of registration stemmed from Jiangsu's prior registration. Jiangsu seeks $ 80,000 and an apology. The timing of this lawsuit is curious, indeed.
It seems as if Apple is caught in the Chinese conundrum. It is a huge potential market. It also is ambivalent to intellectual property protection. I am sure there will be more to these stories.
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