Apple wins iPhone 6 patent case in Beijing

Turning the tables on a (now) defunct Chinese company, Shenzhen Baili, Apple has won a patent lawsuit in China, marking a huge victory for the Cupertino giant.

Last year, the Chinese company filed a lawsuit against Apple, over the exterior design of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models, which Shenzhen Baili claimed were a copy of its 100C smartphones, because of the curved edges and rounded corners. Initially, Apple was ordered to stop selling its iPhone 6 line in Beijing, but it quickly filed an administrative appeal and was permitted to sell the phones there again until further review by the court.

Now, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court has overruled the appeal in Apple’s favour, saying that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus do not infringe on patents for exterior smartphone design held by the local manufacturer as its phone could be easily distinguished from the iPhone designs.

The latest ruling says that the iPhone 6 has features that “completely change the effect of the entire product, and both phones are easily distinguishable in the eyes of consumers.”

Baili no longer manufactures phones, and with the loss of its case against Apple, its remaining intellectual property has likely lost much of its value. According to TechCrunch, though, Baili does plan to appeal the decision.

However, this victory is crucial for the company because China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, remains its second-largest market after the US and losing these regions would cost a hefty price to the company. In the last quarter of 2016, Apple witnessed a fall of 12 percent in the Greater China region courtesy newcomers such as Oppo and Vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi.

Recently, Apple announced it would invest $508 million in China to build two additional Research and Development (R&D) centres in Shanghai and Suzhou to boost local talent.The company opened its first R&D centre in Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park.