Apple ordered to suspend iPhone 6 sales in Beijing

Apple is appealing the ruling, and the company told BuzzFeed News that the iPhones will remain available for sale in China.

The issue also underscores the growing concerns that many foreign companies have about doing business in China, with many feeling the playing field in increasingly tipped against them.

According to Apple’s most recent quarterly numbers [PDF], sales in greater China accounted for $12.48bn in revenues, making it the second-largest market behind the Americas. In May, the tech giant invested $1 billion in Uber rival Didi Chuxing to know more about certain segments of the Chinese market. In response, Apple said that they would again appeal to the court.

The ruling last month initially raised the possibility that sales of the latest iPhone models could be blocked in the Chinese capital, Beijing. After the breakdown on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, China have shown that this tech giant is also not immune towards the scrutiny that is faced by other tech giants of United States since long time from now. Investors will want to hear that they have patched things up with the Chinese authorities, but Apple execs should not be under any illusions that things will not continue to move in this direction. Last month, a Chinese court decided that a company was allowed to use the iPhone trademark on their bags, wallets and other leather products.

As Apple news website 9to5mac.com suggests, a settlement might be the goal in the iPhone design patent dispute, as well.

The country is known for regulating everything with their technologies and controlling what the public there sees or knows, and USA companies are aware of this and at the risk of getting rejected from the Chinese market, are not interested in rocking the boat too much by getting into social-political issues.

Some mobile-phone stores in the city had already stopped selling the two models months ago, switching to the current iPhone 6s and 6s Plus phones. The agency found the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus infringed on a Chinese company’s patent for the exterior design of its smartphone called the 100C. The iPhone 6 retails for $549, and the iPhone 6 Plus for $649.

In its original outreach to Apple in 2014 – a note titled “Lawyer’s Letter” – Shenzhen Baili said it hoped to resolve the patent dispute out of court.