Apple Faces $1.4 Billion Lawsuit Against Siri

Recently, another lawsuit from an AI company in China has been filed for Apple violating a patent it owns to a service similar to Siri. The lawsuit is filed for $1.4 billion from Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Co. against patent infringement on their Xiao-i bot and Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri.


The Wall Street Journal emphasized the court documentation published on Monday, August 3rd, over an alleged act of patent violations of the Siri framework. This lawsuit is suing Apple for 100 billion yuan worth of damages to the Shanghai court.
Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Co. said in a statement on Monday it was suing Apple for an estimated 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) in damages in a Shanghai court, alleging the iPhone and iPad maker's products violated a patent the Chinese company owns for a virtual assistant whose technical architecture is similar to ‌Siri‌. ‌Siri‌, a voice-activated function in Apple's smartphones and laptops, allows users to dictate text messages or set alarms on their devices.
Based on the court documents, the Chinese artificial intelligence company requests Apple to cease manufacturing, using, importing, and selling all of their products that would meddle the patent. The Shanghai court ordered it valid from the China Supreme Court at the end of June. This follows the actuality of a series of court battles between Zhi Zhen and Apple for the last 10 years, with the first report from Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Co. in 2013 with patent infringement over Siri.

The company’s Xiao-i chatbot started as a virtual chat assistant with MSN and other Internet networks in the beginning and then expanded to other software platforms including Android and iOS with its architecture and functionality mimicking the Siri assistant from Apple. Zhizhen has applied for a patent for their chatbot in 2004 and granted in 2009, which is 5 years later from the application date. Apple acquired Siri in April 2010 from Steve Jobs and publicly launched it in October 2011, following the iPhone 4s release.

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