Apple returns to court over patent dispute

Technology giant Apple returned to court on Thursday in an administrative dispute with China's intellectual property authority.

The case was scheduled to start at 2 pm in a courtroom with 30 seats at the Beijing High People's Court, but did not start until 2:47 pm as more than 50 residents, including IT enthusiasts and the authority's officers, wanted to hear the high-profile dispute from the public gallery.

During the trial, Apple asked for the reversal of a judgment by the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court that said the authority's patent for an intelligent robot, granted to a technology company in Shanghai, was valid.