iPhone 6 allegedly infringes on Chinese OEM design patent

In a rather ironic turn of events, it might be Apple who will soon be in trouble for copying someone else's smartphone design, depending on how much weight you put on this claim. Chinese company Digione isn't exactly the most popular in the market, at least when compared to the likes of Xiaomi or OPPO, so it is akin to a David versus Goliath legal battle. And the battle cry is something we've heard before. Supposedly, the iPhone 6 infringes on Digione's patented design for its own 100+ brand.

The patent was filed in China's State Intellectual Property Office way back January and was granted to Digione in July. According to the OEM, it approached Apple in September, when it unveiled the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to the public, that its design infringed on its patent. Of course, by that time it was probably already too late for Apple to redesign its new flagships, and the issue remains to this day. Trying to beat Apple to the court of public opinion, it took to social networks to air its side of the story and posted online the letter it sent to Apple regarding the problem.

There might actually be some similarities between the Apple iPhone 6 and the Digione 100+, but they are superficial at best. Apple switched away from its signature flat edges and went for a more curved design this time around, a feature that is indeed prominent on Digione's smartphone. The button positions, though, seem to have been swapped, with the the volume rocker located on Digione's right instead of the iPhone 6's left and the SIM card slot located on the opposite side. Other than that, there are very little similarities left, especially when you consider the full feature set. The 100+ smartphones run on an octa-core MediaTek and is Android-based. The size is also 5.5 inches, more like the iPhone 6 Plus, and is clearly marketed towards the budget market.

Apple has so far remained silent on the matter and it isn't yet known which way it will sway this time around. In 2012, it preferred to cough up $60 million to pay Chinese company Proview for the iPad trademark in China. For its part, Digione has not yet taken any legal steps to secure its patent and, considering the rather amorphous state of patents lately, it might have a harder time defending it compared to a trademark claim.

VIA: Macworld