Apple suffers Siri patent case defeat in China

Apple has failed in its attempt to get a Chinese company's voice-recognition patent ruled invalid.

The verdict threatens Apple's ability to sell phones with the virtual assistant, Siri, according to the BBC.

Shanghai-based Zhizhen Network Technology has sought to block Apple from selling products with the app installed, saying it infringed its rights. Zhizhen offers its own voice-controlled service, named Xiao i Robot, which began life, in 2003, as a text-based chatbot that ran on others' instant-messaging tools.

Apple plans to appeal the decision.

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