Apple wins China patent appeal over iPhone 'Siri' voice recognition software

Apple has won an appeal on the mainland over the patent rights to voice recognition software such as the iPhone's "Siri", with a court overruling an earlier decision that had gone against the US technology giant.

The legal battle began in 2012 when Shanghai-based Zhizhen Network Technology pursued Apple for allegedly infringing its Chinese patent with Siri, its "intelligent personal assistant".

Siri responds to a user's commands through voice recognition software and made its formal debut with the release of the iPhone 4S in 2011, while Zhizhen claims that its earlier "Xiao i Robot" product works in a similar way.

Apple asked a mainland intellectual property body to declare Zhizhen's original patent ineffective, but the request was rejected.

The US company then took legal action against both the agency and Zhizhen, but lost.

However, the Beijing Higher People's Court has upheld Apple's appeal, ordering the Chinese agency to reverse its decision.