A court’s ruling, which took place over the weekend, was in favor of California-based firm Apple Inc., resulting in a lifting of a prior ban. The U.S. company can now continue to sell its Iphone 6 and 6 plus designs in China. Apple was told to stop selling the design in May 2016, after Shenzen Baili Marketing Services filed a claim that the iPhone 6 and 6 plus designs infringed its 100C mobile phone. Zoomflight, Apple’s retailer in China, fought for the ban to be lifted at the Beijing Intellectual Property Office.
Apple’s victorious battle
The design patent battle between Apple and Shenzen Baili was sparked by the Chinese company’s claim that the U.S firm had copied one of Baili’s products, the 100C mobile phone.
The product’s distinctive exterior traits were the “curved edge and round corners”, the company claimed. Baili had filed the claim at the intellectual property bureau, who ruled that the two Apple phones violated a design patent owned by Baili. Although there were similarities between the two, the Intellectual Property Court said in a statement that the differences between them were “a significant impact on the overall look.” According to Tech Crunch, Baili was planning to appeal the decision.
Apple in China
Apple’s popularity has been contested by new phone makers, such as Xiaomi and local smartphone brands Oppo, and Vivo. The ban was affecting the company’s share of the global smartphone industry.
Apple’s shares of the market has remained stable at the top. In the United States, the brand is dominating a share of more than 40 percent of national subscribers, as Samsung continues to fall behind in quality. Local Chinese brands are investing more on retail presence, resulting in a surge in their sales.
Intellectual property cases
Apple Inc. did win the intellectual property case, but the court did not grant a request to strip Baili off of the design patent that was the basis of the infringement claim. Last year, another Chinese court had allowed a different company, Xintong Tiandi, to use “iphone” and “IPHONE” trademarks on its bags, because the leather goods company had registered the brand names as early as 2007. Apple did not start selling smartphones in the country until two years later. Another interesting fact is that the company didn’t register for leather goods usage of its brand.
