For today’s you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up piece of news, reports are coming in that the Beijing Intellectual Property Office has banned sales of Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in China’s market.
According to the Beijing Morning Post, a Chinese smartphone producer by the name of Baili has complained to the Beijing Intellectual Property Office over the similarities in design of the iPhone 6 and the company’s own 100+ line of Android smartphone. Baili claims that the ‘minute difference’ between the 100+ smartphones and the iPhone 6 would cause confusion among consumers as they wouldn’t be able to differentiate the two phones.
Apple, of course, is not having any of this. The company has since initiated litigation to prevent the ban from happening. In the meantime, Apple will continue to sell the iPhones in China until administrative action filed by Apple is ruled upon.
This wouldn’t be the first time Apple has clashed with the Chinese government of course. Just last month, China has banned both iTunes Movies and the iBooks Store from operating in the country.
Source: Engadget, Beijing Morning Post