Apple Sued In China Over Voice Recognition Patents

Apple's legal troubles in China continue. This time Cupertino is being sued by a company called Zhi Zhen Internet Technology over voice recognition patents. Zhi Zhen claims it holds patents for a Chinese voice language assistant used for its Xiao i Robot service, and that Siri infringes those patents. There's quite a big gap between Siri's introduction in October and the lawsuit that's just been filed, although the company says it reached out to Apple back in May and heard no response.

Zhi Zhen reportedly filed the patent back in 2004, and is going ahead with the case as a result of Apple's Siri language expansion in June to include Mandarin and Cantonese. A spokesperson for the company has said that it wants Apple to stop infringing on its technology and bear the cost of any legal fees.

Apple settled a case with Chinese company Proview not too long ago, paying out $60 million over an iPad trademark dispute in mainland China. Apple has also recently been sued by another Chinese company, Jiangsu Xuebao, over a Snow Leopard trademark. That company claims to have filed a trademark for the word "Xuebao", which translate to "Snow Leopard." The company is seeking CNY 500,000 (~$78,700) in damages and an official apology.

[via The Next Web]