Chinese artificial intelligence firm files $1.4B suit against Apple

(Reuters) — Chinese artificial intelligence company Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co. Ltd., also known as Xiao-i, has filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc., alleging it has infringed on its patents.

The company is calling for 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) in damages and demands that Apple cease “manufacturing, using, promising to sell, selling, and importing” products that infringe on the patent, it said in a social media post.

Xiao-i argued that Apple's voice-recognition technology Siri infringes on a patent that it applied for in 2004 and was granted in 2009.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment. 

The lawsuit marks the continuation of a row that has been ongoing for nearly a decade.

Shanghai Zhizhen first sued Apple for patent infringement in 2012 regarding its voice recognition technology. In July, China's Supreme People's Court ruled that the patent was valid.