Remember the little-known Chinese firm Shenzhen Baili Marketing Services Co., which alleged that Apple was infringing its patents and had ripped off the company's 100C smartphone design for the iPhone 6? Turns out Baili is yet another patent troll!
As reported by us, Baili had sued Apple Inc. and its distribution partner Zhongfu Telecom. An injunction was issued by the Beijing Intellectual Property Office, ordering the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones to be off store shelves in Beijing. Apple appealed the ruling and continues to sell the 2014 models of the iPhone in Beijing stores.
However, in a twist to the tale, it turns out - unsurprisingly at that - that Shenzhen Baili is essentially a patent troll. After the incident, the Wall Street Journal checked out the credentials of the aggrieved company and made an astounding discovery: Baili as well as Digione, its parent company, "barely exist."
Reportedly, Digione has been missing from the market for more than a year. One of the reasons for its demise is "buggy" devices.
"Phone calls to the company, Shenzhen Baili Marketing Services Co., ring unanswered. Its websites have been deleted. Visits to its three registered addresses found no company offices," disclosed the publication.
The company does not manufacture the 100C smartphone - the model which the iPhone 6 is said to infringe - anymore either. The digging around by the publication suggests that all Baili seems to be doing is protecting its patents.
Since the patents are in Baili's name, it seems that the company's goal is to arm-twist Apple into some form of settlement. The lawsuit could potentially have the Chinese company hitting the jackpot: according to the Wall Street Journal, Baili and Digione are bankrupt.
If Digione can wrangle some money as part of the patent infringement lawsuit settlement, then Baili smartphones could potentially make a comeback. Even if the company does not enter the smartphone space again, it would still have some much-needed money by the looks of things.
While it would seem that Baili is suing Apple for copyright infringement only to make a quick buck, the company's lawyer Andy Yang begs to differ.
"The issue here is not whether Digione makes phones anymore, but whether the iPhone 6 infringes on this patent," said Yang.
Yang adds that Baili would continue to drag Apple into court and could even include the 2015 iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models in the lawsuit.
China is an important market for Apple and if push comes to shove and Baili continues its plans, Apple could potentially have to pay it out to make the patent trolls vanish.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns | Flickr
