Apple's mounting legal woes in China are getting worse. (Photo : Getty Images)
Apple's legal battles in China take a turn for the worse as the Cupertino, California-based company faces another lawsuit over the alleged showing of a 20-year-old propaganda film.
According to the Associated Press, the Movie Satellite Channel Program Production Center, a subsidiary of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), has a filed a copyright infringement case against the tech giant for broadcasting a war film titled "Xuebo dixiao."
Loosely translated as "Bloody Fight with the Fierce Enemy," the film is about Chinese soldiers fighting against the Japanese in the 1930s. It was first shown in 1994, per AP.
The production center has also filed a case against Heyi Information and Technology (Beijing) Company Ltd., which developed and operated the Youku HD app. It claimed that the incident had caused "huge economic losses" to the company.
The AP reported that the app is sold by Youku.com, citing information on Apple's iTunes site.
The SAPPRFT subsidiary demands the immediate cancellation of the film on the app and is requiring 50,000 yuan or $7,500 in compensation.
On top of this, the plaintiff wants reimbursement for its "reasonable expenditure" of 20,158 yuan or $3,000 in filing the case, the AP reported.
Neither Apple nor Youku Tudou has made any official comments as of writing.
This latest lawsuit adds up to Apple's mounting legal battles in China, the tech heavyweight's biggest market outside the U.S.
Last June, a Beijing court had ruled that Apple should not be allowed to sell the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models in China as they are copycats of a local maker's patented smartphones line. Apple is currently appealing the decision.
In March, Apple also lost a case to a local manufacturer of leather goods when a Chinese court allowed the latter to sell cases and bags bearing the iPhone trademark.
