Apple said Friday it has appealed the decision of a Beijing oversight panel alleging the tech giant violated design patents of a small Chinese competitor, but sales of Apple smartphones have not been disrupted by the dispute.
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“The order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP (intellectual property) court”, Apple said.
Beijing’s municipal intellectual property bureau granted Shenzhen Baili an injunction in the city after ruling that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus infringed on its patent, according to a statement on its website dated May 19.
The patent dispute is Apple’s latest headache in China, the company’s second biggest source of revenue after the United States and one of its fastest-growing markets.
“Even if they do get banned, they’ll come out with new phones and they’ll be selling those phones, Munster said”. But recently, regulatory pushback in China has targeted the company. The Cupertino, California, company also lost a fight earlier this year to keep the exclusive rights to the iPhone name in China. The tech giant said in a statement that it will continue to sell those models in that city as it appeals the decision.
Authorities found that this older generation of iPhones looks too similar to a phone, the 100C, made by a company called Shenzhen Baili. (NASDAQ:AAPL) says that the sales are going ahead while it appeals. China shut down Apple’s book and movie service in April for violating foreign publishing regulations, and last month a Beijing court ruled that a little-known accessories maker could use the iPhone label for a range of wallets and purses. But according to two leading analysts familiar with the inner workings of Apple, that might not hurt the company’s business prospects in China.
The China market generated $61 billion for Apple a year ago.
Along with trying to boost its own sales in China, Apple has invested in other opportunities in the country. Last month, a Beijing court ruled in favor of a Chinese company making “IPHONE”-brand pocketbooks”.
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Baili is one of the smartphone brands in China and, apparently, the patent belongs to Xu Guoxiang.
