On April 3, 2013, Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology, the developer of voice-recognition technology Xiao i Robot, met with Apple in court claiming that Siri infringes on its patent relating to “a type of instant messaging chat robot system.”
Zhizhen said its product could respond to requests intelligently due to its artificial intelligence servers and databases. Similarly, Siri is an “intelligent personal assistant” responding to user commands through voice-recognition.
Along with Apple, Apple Computer Trading (Shanghai), which is responsible for Apple sales in China, asked the court to delay the case, but the request was rejected.
Zhizhen’s evidence showed that patents for the Xiao i Robot were filed in 2004, while Apple’s Siri was released with the iPhone 4S in 2011. Siri itself was first developed by Siri Inc. in 2007, which was a start up acquired by Apple in 2010.
In April 2012, Zhizhen had sent letters to Apple Computer Trading and Apple attempting to resolve through negotiation but received no reply. Zhizhen then filed suit on June 21, 2012, demanding Apple to cease manufacture, sale and use of products with Siri in China.
“The product involved is the iPhone 4S but more are to be affected as Apple rolls out more new products such as the iPhone 5, iPad 4, iPad Mini and iPod Touch 5,” said Si Weijiang, an attorney representing Zhizhen.
Apple, on the other hand, said Siri has an international patent and that products installed with Siri software are not related to the Xiao i Robot technology, and that Siri, therefore, did not violate the patent.
Apple said in court that a technical appraisal and analysis of Siri and Xiao i Robot should be presented to determine whether patent infringement has taken place and that Zhizhen has failed to provide such information.
Zhizhen is strategically not claiming any damages. “On one hand, it is able to add a damage claim before or on the date of the next hearing on June 2, 2013. On the other, Zhizhen may reach a settlement with Apple outside court if its chances are good,” Scott Wang, a patent attorney at China Patent Agent in Beijing tells Asia IP.
However, a huge financial settlement similar to those seen recently in suits involving Apple in the US and South Korea is rare in China, adds Wang.
Regardless, Zhizhen has a long way to go in the battle, says Wang. “It is difficult to prove Siri uses the same technical feature as Siri is invisible software. It is also hard to convince the judge that all the features of the claim are present on Siri.”
In addition, Zhizhen’s lawyer does not specialize in patent litigation, while Apple’s does, says Wang.
Wang says that a victory by Zhizhen would like not draw Apple’s customers to its side. “Zhizhen can not be deemed as Apple’s competitor; only Samsung can,” says Wang.
In 2012, Apple paid US$60 million to Proview Technology (Shenzhen) to end a protracted legal dispute over the iPad trademark in China.
The technology behind the sweet, robotic voice of Siri is at issue in a suit against Siri’s owner, Apple.
