Apple’s Siri may be one of the most recognized voice response system but it has also been one of the most controversial Apple feature ever since its debut back in 2011.
According to a report by Reuter the Cupertino based tech giant lost a patent case against a China based company Zinzhen Internet Technology that alleged Apple to use its patented features in Siri. In 2012 Zinzhen Internet Technology alleged that some Siri features draw similarity with its software called Xiao iRobot which is infringement of its patent.
As per ZinZhen the way Apple’s Siri asks personal questions like “What can I help you with ?” are patented by the Chinese firm back in 2006 while Siri became a part of Apple Inc in 2010.
However Apple denied the allegation stating that Apple was unaware of ZinZhem’s patent when the company started working on Siri. “Unfortunately, we were not aware of Zinzhen’s patent before we introduced Siri (speech-recognition technology) and we do not believe we are using this patent,” a Beijing-based Apple spokeswoman told Reuters.”
Back in 2012 the Technology major requested Chinese court to cancel the patent allegation but after rounds of hearing the court has finally ruled in favor of Zinzen Intenet Technology. The China based technology company has been making chat bots since 2004 which were used in various popular messengers of that time.
As per China’s State Intellectual Property Office patent for iRobot in 2004 and the patent was approved in 2006 much before Apple purchased Siri to be a personal assistance on its 2011 flagship iPhone 4s. Now that Apple lost the legal battle with Zinzhen in court reports suggest that Apple might settle the case out of court.
