In another setback for Apple in China, the country's intellectual property authority has ruled that the company's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets have infringed design patents of a Chinese OEM. The Cupertino-based tech giant might be asked to stop sales of its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the country.
Beijing Intellectual Property Office declared that both the iPhones infringe on patent rights owned by Shenzhen-based firm Baili. The regulator ruled that Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets are an exact copy of Baili's 100C phone. Apple is yet to release an official statement on this claim.
"Baili is just another smartphone brand in China. The patent reportedly belongs to Xu Guoxiang.
Meanwhile, Apple can appeal the ruling. "Apple can try to stave off a sales ban by appealing in several venues, including the Beijing Higher People's Court and the Supreme People's Court. If the position by the Beijing IP office is upheld and Apple doesn't appeal further, then in theory they wouldn't be able to sell the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus," Bird and Bird partner and IP specialist Ted Chwu said in a Bloomberg report .
In April, Apple's iTunes Movies and iBooks service were banned in the country on demand from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
The two Apple services competed directly with Chinese firms. According to the New York Times, the official scrutiny might be driven by government's desire to support domestic companies.
In May, Chinese court ruled against Apple in a case it brought against a small maker of "iPhone"-branded leather goods. Manufacturer Xintong Tiandi registered the word as a trademark for use on leather goods in 2007 and has been producing wallets, handbags and phone cases emblazoned with it ever since.
The Beijing municipal higher people's court reportedly ruled that Apple had failed to prove that the iPhone brand was "familiar to the public and widely known" in China before the leather company registered it.
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