The look of the Baili 100C cellphone (L) and the look of the iPhone 6 (R). [File photo]

Apple Inc. is fighting back against a ruling handed down by the Beijing Intellectual Property Office which says the iPhone 6 replicates the exterior design of a lesser known Chinese cellphone, the Beijing Morning Post reported on Thursday.

The Shenzhen-based Baili Marketing Service Inc. filed a complaint to the Beijing Intellectual Property Office against Apple Inc. and Zhongfu Telecom, a Beijing cellphone store chain, saying the exterior designs of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus infringe the patents right of the company's Cellphone 100C.

The intellectual property office ruled on May 10 that Apple Inc. indeed replicates the design and demanded that Apple Inc. and Zhongfu Telecom stop selling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

"The Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have minor differences from Baili's 100C. The differences are so tiny that the average customer could not notice. So, this case falls into the patent rights protection category," the ruling said.

Apple and Zhongfu have filed administrative litigation against the Beijing Intellectual Property Office at the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, asking the court to revoke the office's ruling and announce that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus do not fall into the patent protection range. Both companies say the two iPhones have many notable differences from Baili's phone.

The court has accepeted the case and sent a subpoena to the Beijing Intellectual Property Office for the lawsuit. The proceeding is underway.

If the court sustains the ruling of the Beijing Intellectual Property Office, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be banned from sale for the first time, in the Beijing area at least. The ruling in effect will also be the reference for other cities. However, Apple Inc. and Zhongfu Telecom can still appeal even if they lose the case, a patent lawyer said.

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