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Xiaomi Clones Apple's Memoji With New 'Mimoji' Avatars [Updated]

Oh sure...that's how it starts, then there's a tariff on jumanji, shoji, kanji, punji, and then gangi...have you no decency, sir?
 
sracer said:
But as is typical these days, something is only a "thing" when a mega-corp says so. This is why a company like Disney can take public-domain fairy tales, put their mark on it, now they own the copyright... which keeps getting extended so that nothing they own will ever enter the public domain.
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Are the design of emoji's public domain? I know it's supposedly a consortium like unicode or something, but the design I assumed was subject to copyright. If they aren't then why aren't Microsoft, Google, Twitter, Facebook using Apple's? I bet most people associate emoji's with Apple's current design.
 
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cmaier said:
First, under copyright law, you don’t necessarily need to show loss - there are statutory damages. Second, some consumers may have decided to not buy iPhones because “mimoji” are good enough, or may think “mimoji” are somehow compatible with “memoji,” in which case there may be actual damages.
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Do copyright laws matter in China? ;) Apple still has to prove actual damages due to lost sales. Not saying that it is right, I am saying how is going to be prove that Mimoji is damaging it’s product or services. It is not the case where Xiaomi is charging an add-on fee from Mimoji that can be disputed, it is provided for free. What is the profit on free?

The courts cannot speculate that some users may have decided not to buy an iPhone because of Mimoji. iPhone is not marketed as a Memoji only device, in this case any Mimoji/Memoji is an evolution of emojis even Animoji’s falls within this spectrum as it is a skin placed on a face expression.

If this was the case as you say Apple would have gone after companies who had similar rear camera setup and notch design due to design and utility patents and copyright laws.

iPhone sales in China are slipping not due to Memoji, it is due to price mainly, 5G, value for money and features, etc.

Apple could sue Xiaomi and others, however that will leave distaste in many Chinese minds and Apple will risk it’s reputation. To me it will be a lose/lose situation for Apple and a big win for lawyers. But go ahead argue the ethics and morals of the matter which I agree with.
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Jimmy James said:
It’s ok. Jony will come up with some new innovations for them to copy soon enough.
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He is a free agent and even if Apple is his primary client, he can now do work for whomever he pleases. :p
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farmboy said:
Oh sure...that's how it starts, then there's a tariff on jumanji, shoji, kanji, punji, and then gangi...have you no decency, sir?
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It has been proven that tariff’s hurt vice help. Many don’t even understand the trade deficit problem, it is USA who does not produce enough to minimize if not equalize the trade deficit, however it is China’s problem :rolleyes:

Not even going to get into which country holds the most amount of a nations debt and currency value manipulation ;)
 
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I mean hey, if you're going to copy, might as well go all or nothing.

Not surprisingly, most of the "mimoji" look asian...
 
They're even round-eyes, just like Memojis - how unoriginal. Or is this to target the US market?

Also:

"We have conducted internal audits and found no evidences that our Mimoji characters have [been] plagiarized from any of our competitors including Apple."

Lol.
 
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code-m said:
Do copyright laws matter in China? ;) Apple still has to prove actual damages due to lost sales.
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My point is, if they are alleging copyright infringement (and I'm not saying they would be doing so or would have a basis to do so), then they likely would NOT have to prove actual damages.

17 USC 504:

(a)In General.—Except as otherwise provided by this title, an infringer of copyright is liable for either—
(1) the copyright owner’s actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, as provided by subsection (b); or
(2) statutory damages, as provided by subsection ©.


...

(c)Statutory Damages.—
(1) Except as provided by clause (2) of this subsection, the copyright owner may elect, at any time before final judgment is rendered, to recover, instead of actual damages and profits, an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work, for which any one infringer is liable individually, or for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally, in a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 as the court considers just. For the purposes of this subsection, all the parts of a compilation or derivative work constitute one work.
(2) In a case where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $150,000.
 
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Let me guess, at the same event they will rebrand the company to Appel and rebrand their flagship to the phoneI?
 
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So..why are we letting Chinese companies copy things made in the USA and sell them to Americans? Just outright ban all things made by Chinese companies!
 
alpi123 said:
Wtf? Seriously, if I didn't read the title, I would've assumed these are new Memojis.

Can't Apple sue them or sth like that
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This is China we're talking about here. They have no respect for the IP of any other country. That's the root of our current trade problems and the main reason why there's a trade war going on. Their companies can blatantly rip off whatever they choose to and there's nothing we can do about it.
 
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sracer said:
Do you think that Apple's Memojis are an original concept? They weren't the first.

But as is typical these days, something is only a "thing" when a mega-corp says so. This is why a company like Disney can take public-domain fairy tales, put their mark on it, now they own the copyright... which keeps getting extended so that nothing they own will ever enter the public domain.
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They own their version of the fairy tale, not the original.
 
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drumcat said:
Did the latest Huawei flip-flop allow for this?
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No. The reversal on the executive order returned us back to the status quo. Huawei products are still banned in the United States. By removing the executive order, our companies are allowed to sell to them only for products not deemed at risk for national security. Those products that are remain off limits. Keep in mind there were already sanctions on Huawei before Trump's executive order. Trump's verbal agreement only brought us back to where Huawei remains banned, but negotiations on Huawei's status will resume.

I'll use the example of ZTE. The US government, along with many of our allies, had banned both ZTE and Huawei as security risks. A little over a year ago, there was an agreement between the US and China to remove the entire management team of ZTE and to put in safeguards to prevent them from spying. ZTE is no longer banned. The reason for the executive order was that all negotiations for Huawei had stopped, so the president went for a complete ban. If there is an agreement similar to ZTE, expect Huawei to have its bans completely lifted.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with Xiaomi.
 
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