Chinese artificial intelligence company files $1.4 billion lawsuit against Apple

[August 03, 2020]  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese artificial intelligence company Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co., Ltd., also known as Xiao-i, has filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc, alleging it has infringed on its patents.

The company is calling for 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion)in damages and demands that Apple cease "manufacturing, using, promising to sell, selling, and importing" products that infringe on the patent, it said in a social media post.

Xiao-i argued that Apple's voice-recognition technology Siri infringes on a patent that it applied for in 2004 and was granted in 2009.

Apple did not respond to a requst for comment. Reuters was not immediately available to find a copy of the court filing.

The lawsuit marks the continuation of a row that has been ongoing for nearly a decade.

Shanghai Zhizhen first sued Apple for patent infringement in 2012 regarding its voice recognition technology. In July, China's Supreme People's court ruled that the patent was valid.

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz, editing by Louise Heavens)

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