Company That Sued Apple for iPhone 6 Patent Infringement 'Barely Exists'

Shenzhen Baili, the Chinese company that claimed the iPhone 6 violated the patent of its 100c smartphone, is reported to "barely exist" following its victory in the Beijing Intellectual Property Office against Apple.

In response to Shenzhen Baili's patent lawsuit, The Wall Street Journal investigated the company, along with its parent Digione, and found that the latter company had collapsed, "brought down by buggy products, mismanagement and fierce competition, according to former employees and investors." Digione has apparently been absent from China's mobile phone market for nearly a year.

100c iphone 6 comparison

iPhone 6 (left) and Shenzhen Baili's 100c (right)

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.

Baili and its parent, Digione, are part of a rapid boom and bust in China’s new wave of smartphone makers. When Baili took on Apple in December 2014, telling Chinese regulators that the Cupertino, Calif., company’s new models infringed on its smartphone design patents, it had bold aspirations, a big-name investor in Chinese internet giant Baidu Inc. and a team of experienced executives.

All the same, Shenzhen Baili is claiming to continue to battle Apple through its pending appeal process, and the company "is still operational in its necessary functions,” according to Digione lawyer Andy Yang. The company originally filed the patent infringement claim in December 2014, shortly after the launch of the iPhone 6, but the case only recently reached the court system in Beijing.

Despite its assertion to continue going after Apple in court, the financial records of Baili and its parent company reveal that both are insolvent, with debts that greatly exceed their total assets. Former employees of the company even said that the suit against Apple was "always more a marketing ploy than a serious court case."

Despite the setback, Apple has confirmed that both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have stayed on sale in China thanks to an administrative order appeal from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month.

Tag: China

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Report: Apple's Next-Gen Version of Siri Is 'On Par' With ChatGPT

Monday May 19, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report. Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn Siri into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of Siri has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple Will Reportedly Be More Cautious About Announcing New Features Well in Advance

Sunday May 18, 2025 2:50 pm PDT by
Apple plans to mostly stop announcing new features more than a few months before they are ready to launch, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett. The pair of reporters revealed this noteworthy tidbit towards the bottom of a lengthy report about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings today. This alleged change in strategy comes after Apple was forced to delay its more...

Top Rated Comments

keysofanxiety Avatar
116 months ago
As ridiculous as this is its karma for Apple. Apple was the ultimate patent troll a couple years ago.
Not in the slighest. Patent troll doesn't mean what you think it means.

Apple patented something. They have their patent granted. They release technology which utilises that patent. Other companies release products which infringe on those patents. Apple defend their patents.

Now, if you think that some of the elements shouldn't have been patented, then that's more an argument against the patent system. That's quite a big difference.

A patent troll would be a company that doesn't really exist. They make no products. They just collect patents, don't use them in any form, and then sue everyone who mildly infringes on it. They contribute nothing but throwing red tape in the courts, gunking up true innovation and actual products in the process, because they want to make a quick buck.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
116 months ago
Yes thats my mistake. Nonetheless a patent for swipe to unlock? Apple has sued for some petty things, some are legit but a lot were not.
Well then why would the competitors use swipe to unlock in their products? There are many other ways to unlock a phone. A button. Swirl your finger around in a circle to unlock. Type in a passcode.

The reason they used it is because Apple thought of something really obvious, but effective. A gesture that couldn't unlock a phone accidentally when in your pocket, but which is easy and intuitive to do when you do want to unlock it.

The competitors knew that was patented. They used it anyway, because they couldn't think of anything just as effective. They hadn't thought of it before, even in its most simplistic form. So yes, I very much agree with Apple suing over that. It's not like there wasn't a different way to do it.

You might see it as something simple and natural. It's easy to say that with hindsight. Even so much as a swipe unlock had a lot of thought and time that goes into it, especially when you consider what the phone industry looked like before 2007.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sputnikv Avatar
116 months ago
This should be a surprise to no one
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
skinned66 Avatar
116 months ago
the company "is still operational in its necessary functions," according to Digione lawyer Andy Yang.
What "necessary functions" look like:
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nadir98 Avatar
116 months ago
Golddiggers.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
116 months ago
As ridiculous as this is its karma for Apple. Apple was the ultimate patent troll a couple years ago.
You obviously don't know what patent troll means.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)