SHANGHAI, April 8 (Reuters) – Chinese language search engine large Baidu (9888.HK), has filed lawsuits towards “related” app builders and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) over pretend copies of its Ernie bot app accessible on Apple’s app retailer.
The corporate’s synthetic intelligence powered Ernie bot, launched final month, has been touted as China’s closest reply to the U.S.-developed chatbot ChatGPT.
Baidu mentioned it had lodged lawsuits in Beijing Haidian Folks’s Court docket towards the builders behind the counterfeit functions of its Ernie bot and the Apple firm.
“At current, Ernie doesn’t have any official app,” Baidu mentioned in an announcement late on Friday posted on its official “Baidu AI” WeChat account.
It additionally posted {a photograph} of its courtroom submitting.
“Till our firm’s official announcement, any Ernie app you see from App Retailer or different shops are pretend,” it mentioned.
Apple didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
A Reuters search on Saturday discovered there have been nonetheless at the least 4 apps bearing the Chinese language-language title of the Ernie bot, all pretend, in Apple’s App Retailer.
The Ernie bot is simply accessible to customers who apply for and obtain entry codes. In its assertion, Baidu additionally warned towards folks promoting entry codes.
Reporting by Jason Xue and Brenda Goh; Modifying by Robert Birsel
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