A Beijing court has overturned a ruling that Apple's iPhone 6 had violated a Chinese manufacturer's patent which saw the US tech giant ordered to cease selling the smartphone in Beijing.

According to Tech Crunch, the disputes were over the exterior design of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models, which Shenzhen Baili claimed were a copy of their 100C smartphones, curved corners and all. The company "barely existed" in the market at the time it filed the suit. And its 100C smartphones were impossible to find because it is a very less known smartphone.

As per Mac Rumors, last June it's reported that ailing company Shenzhen Baili filed a lawsuit against the tech giant company Apple claiming that the iPhone 6 violated the patent of its 100c smartphone. Just after the lawsuit was filed, the Beijing Intellectual Property Office ruled that the iPhone did violate on Shenzhen's patent rights, accusing Apple to be "copying " the exterior design of the 100c phone.

Initially, Apple was handed an injunction to stop selling its iPhone 6 line in Beijing, but it instantly filed an administrative appeal and was allowed to sell the phones there again until further review by the court. Damage was likely minimal. Apple was moving up to iPhone 7 when this IP drama first arose again.

But the Beijing court ruled that the iPhone 6 had features which completely changes the development of the entire smartphone and both phones are easily distinguishable by any consumers, finding Baili's claim was without legal basis.

Apple has lost market share in China in last few years to up and coming device makers from Xiaomi to BBK Electronics' brands Vivo and Oppo more recently. However, it has remained the most profitable player in the global market. "In 2016, Apple have seen an incredible 79% of global smartphone industry profits with just 14.5% market share."

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