Meizu getting legal heat from Apple over M9 design?
updated 08:35 am EDT, Mon October 4, 2010
Meizu chief complains of Apple legal pressure
Meizu chief Jack Wong today complained that his company was under pressure from Apple in legal talks over its rights to make the M9. The Chinese company's founder was "disgusted" with the process and was convinced Apple was trying to claim ownership of large, touchscreen-only phones. Intellectual property law was working against Meizu as well, he said, as it was favoring a larger company like Apple and had vague wording that could impact a "substantially similar" product.
The CEO called on the Chinese government to lend support as technology companies in developing countries needed support to get off the ground. He was thankful for the support from the city of Zhuhai but wanted help on a wider level, including users, if Meizu was to help define the mobile Internet in the country.
Apple hasn't commented on the local negotiations.
Wong's claims are so far mixed. The M9 should be substantially different than the iPhone with a customized Android shell, but it also jumped to a Retina Display-like LCD and still has some design similarity. Meizu also has little argument that it didn't have earlier intent, as the original M8 design (then called the MiniOne) was deliberately designed as a reaction to the original iPhone. While the interface became more original, the finished M8 ended up closely resembling an iPhone 3G.
Meizu has been relatively successful in China but, before the M8 and M9, had built a reputation on borrowing iPod design traits for a successful MP3 player line. [via MeizuMe]
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Mommy
It's time to call mommy and cry over her shoulder. Meizu is so arrogant. They are the one who first copied Apple. They deserved to have their a-s-s chewed by Apple.