China is a hugely important smartphone market. The world’s largest OEMs fight for market share in the country where the world’s largest wireless carrier China Mobile operates. In 2012, Apple came under fire from a company named Zhizhen Network Technology that argued Apple didn’t own the patent rights to voice recognition software, potentially putting the fate of Siri’s operation in China in trouble.
According to AFP, however, Apple recently won the lawsuit against Zhizhen Network Technology, putting the troubles behind the Siri-maker for now. Apparently Zhizhen accused Apple’s patents of infringing on technology that it invented to power a Siri-like software named “Xiao i Robot.” The two then fought back and forth in court for the past three years, AFP explained.
“The move means Apple’s Siri voice recognition system did not infringe the protected rights of other patents and Apple fans can continue enjoying the conveniences brought by the technology,” a statement from the court explained. It’s hard to believe there may have been a point where Apple would have had to change or remove Siri, had it been found guilty of infringing patents, though it’s unclear if the suit would have escalated that far.
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