In a breaking news, a Chinese AI firm Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology (also known as Xiao-i) has sued Apple for infringing on its patent related to Siri, the smart virtual assistant embedded in Apple operating systems.
According to Reuters, Xiao-i stated that it is suing Apple for an estimated 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) in damages.
The company alleged that Apple products violated a patent that it applied for in 2004 and was granted in 2009. Now, the tussle between the companies continues further.
The patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple could prevent the American tech giant from selling many of its products in its biggest markets outside the U.S.
This is not the first time that Xiao-i took Apple to court in China over alleged patent infringement with Siri. In fact, it first sued Apple for patent infringement in 2012 for an alleged patent infringement on voice recognition technology.
The lawsuit comes at a time when intellectual property has become a hot topic between US and China, with many instances where US companies have alleged IP thefts by Chinese competitors.
About Xiao-i
Xiao-i is an artificial intelligence company founded in 2001 by Max Yuan and Pinpin Zhu, and develops AI technologies and industry applications specializing in data domain and Natural Language Processing.
The company debuted its first chatbot in 2004 over Microsoft Network’s (MSN) messaging platform. Xiao-i currently supports China’s three mobile carriers with its AI technology and applications.
