China is proving to be a tough market for iPhone maker

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July 4, 2016 5:54 PM

This is Apple's second run-in with SARFT following an April incident in which SARFT was able to shut down iTunes Movies and iBooks.

Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces Apple Watch on Sept. 9, 2014, in Cupertino, California.

Apple can't seem to make headway in China, its largest iPhone market. The Cupertino giant is being sued by an arm of China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) over a propaganda video from 1994.

Apparently, a SARFT subsidiary, the Movie Satellite Channel Program Production Centre, claims it has exclusive rights to a certain film, Xuebo Dixiao, which focuses on China's battles with Japan in the 1930s. According to the Chinese media subsidiary, Apple streaming the film led to it incurring huge losses.

Strangely, Apple did not even air the film directly. Yuoku HD, an App Store app whose parent company is also a defendant in the suit, streamed the video, which the SARFT subsidiary is urging the court to order both companies to pay a $7,500 fine, in addition to taking down the film.

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This is Apple's second run-in with SARFT following an April incident in which SARFT was able to shut down iTunesMovies and iBooks. Apple also lost a trademark battle against a Beijing-based company which names its products IPHONE. More recently, Apple was also accused of cloning an unpopular Chinese brand's design for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

These court cases and many other patent issues are some of the issues that the world's most valuable company is facing in its largest market. Unfortunately, Apple does not have the luxury of pulling out if the market despite how challenging it is for it to do business in the world most populous country. China is still Apple's biggest source of revenue as far as iPhone and App Store sales are concerned.

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