Beijing’s Intellectual Property Office has ruled against Apple in a patent dispute brought by a less-famous Chinese handset maker, leaving the US company’s latest handset family in jeopardy.
The Apple iPhone 6 and 6S models infringe on the patent rights of another, less famous Chinese smartphone maker, as these models are too similar to Shenzhen Baili 100c.
As ruled by the Beijing Intellectual Property Office, this is leading to the possibility that Apple may have to cease sales of its handset in China, Apple’s second largest market in the world, Sputnik reported.
Apple is expected to appeal to the higher authorities—namely, Beijing Higher People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Court—in attempts to keep its two handsets available in Beijing. The company expects the higher courts to cancel the office’s ruling, calling it a regular practice.
This ruling affected Apple’s shares, as they dropped 2.1% in New York on Friday, Bloomberg reports. This happened despite the company’s statement by spokeswoman, Kristin Huguet, that all models of iPhone 6 family are currently available for sale in China.
