Apple Inc. has been ordered to stop the sale of its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in China as the phones look very similar to one of its competitors.
The Beijing Intellectual Property Office ruled in favour of a small Chinese brand, Shenzhen Baili, who claimed the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus looked too much like their 100C smartphone model. The company also claimed that the similarity might confuse the consumers, highlighting the point of patent infringement.
Apple said that the suspension order has been put on hold by the Beijing court on an appeal, hence both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were still on sale.
In last April, the company had suspended both its iTunes movie service and iBooks service apparently due to an order by the Chinese regulators. However, Apple said that they hope to resume their services soon.
The company suffered another setback in May when a court permitted a Chinese company to use the iPhone trademark on its products such as bags, wallets and other leather goods. In response, Apple said that they would again appeal to the court.
In the global market, Apple Inc. is also facing rising competition from local brands like Huawei and Xiaomi, which have achieved a good market share.
