Chinese firm files patent suit against Apple over Siri
09 Jul 2012
A little known Chinese technology firm Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Co Ltd has filed a patent lawsuit against US technology giant Apple for infringing its patented voice recognition software.
The patent lawsuit comes a few days after the Cupertino, California-based company paid $60 million to China's Shenzhen Proview Technology to settle a trademark dispute over rights to use the iPad name in China.
Zhizhen Network claims to have developed voice technology called Xiao i Robot, which works on the Apple's IOS, Google's Android operating system and Windows Live Messenger.
Zhizhen Network alleges that Apple's voice recognition software Siri, used by Apple on its iPhone 4S, infringes one of its patents.
Apple had launched its iPhone 4S with the Siri feature in China early this year, and last month launched the Siri services in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Apple acquired Siri through its 2010 purchase of start-up company Siri Inc, which patented the Siri mobile virtual assistant in 2007, while Zhizhen Network claims it had filed a patent application for its Xiao i Robot in August 2004, and was approved in February 2006.