After being intensely pressured from Apple and intellectual property regulators in China, Meizu Technology Co., Ltd. is seizing the production of its popular iPhone look-alike phone, the Meizu M8, which some have called the most successful mobile phone in China. It somewhat resembles the iPhone 3G and runs a skinned version of Android that looks like the iOS. Last week, the company’s CEO posted on a popular Meizu forum to say that they would have to suspend the manufacturing of the M8 because of all the heat coming down from the government of the Guangdong province.

Before the M8 started production, Apple has been threatening the Chinese company over potential patent infringement. The pressure only seemed to increase with Meizu CEO Jack Wong saying on a forum post at MeizuMe.com that “Apple’s lawyers have been using less than decent negotiation tactics.” According to Jack, Apple was attempting to “claim rights to the large touchscreen smartphone form factor.” Now bowing down to complaints from Apple, the Guangdong provincial branch of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) also put pressure on Meizu, threatening to shut the factory down if they kept manufacturing the iPhone clones.

Wong eventually agreed to Apple’s demand of halting the production of the M8, but Apple then raised the bar, saying that Meizu had to stop al display and sales of the current remaining stock of M8s as well. SIPO has the power to close factories without court order, which means that the Meizu factory can be shut down if they do not comply. Wong objects, saying this was not part of the agreement he negotiated with Apple, and that it wold be a major blow to his company as well as driving Meizu’s franchised stores out of business. “I can cope with a production freeze, but not with having our shops closed and thus not being able to use up our inventory,” Jack wrote on MeizuMe. “If Apple and the provincial IPO take another insatiable step, I can only go head to head against them.” Wong claims that he has the support of the city of Zhuhai against the provincial intellectual property office’s stance.

Currently Meizu is preparing for the launch of the M9, which is an Android phone with more of a unique design that will sport a Cortex-A9 multicore processor and a high-definition 960×680 screen. Wong hopes that he can keep his factory open for the production of the new phone and hopefully the M9′s changed appearance will keep Apple off his back.

Source: ChinaTech, MeizuMe

Authors: _GadgetNews

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