Chinese Regulator Accuses Apple Of Smartphone Patent Theft With iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus

by Brandon Hill — Friday, June 17, 2016, 11:59 AM EDT

Well, we didn’t see this one coming. Often times, it’s American companies that are crying foul when it comes to Chinese companies ripping off their designs. However, one of the most vocal protectors of its intellectual property is finding itself under fire in China, and that company is none other than Apple.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Office has found that Apple has infringed on the design patents of the Shenzhen Baili 100C smartphone. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are listed as the guilty parties in the infringement, and surprisingly, the virtually identically designed iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus escaped scrutiny (for now).

According to CNBC, the ruling only affects iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones sold within Beijing. Apple, of course, disagrees with the judgement against it, and has already filed an appeal. In a statement to CNBC, Apple writes:

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone SE models are all available for sale today in China. We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court.

To be honest, we’re not really seeing the design similarities between the two other than the fact that they both have rounded slab shapes. All of the other details are different, with the Shenzhen Baili 100C seemingly including a plastic rear casing whereas the iPhone 6 family uses an aluminum unibody design.

This ruling comes just a month after Apple inexplicably lost the exclusive right to use the IPHONE name in China.

Tags: Apple, China, (NASDAQ:AAPL), iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.

Which New GPU Is For You?

Stay updated with the latest news and updates. Subscribe to our newsletter!

Subscribe Now