US tech giant Apple Inc. is involved in legal dispute in China again.  The company is suing State Intellectual Property Office of China over a patent dispute related to Apple's Siri product.

Apple claims that the patent of intelligent personal assistant software, XiaoI Robot, designed by Shanghai-based Zhizhen Network Technology is similar to its own, and said that XiaoI's patent is invalid.

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Apple says the XiaoI Robot's Patent is not creative and novel, the scope the patent protects is too wide, and the patent specification does not include elaborate explanation on it. Also, the patent could not accomplish some specific functions.

Previously, Apple asked for a review of the XiaoI Robot's patent by the State Intellectual Property Office, the agency in charge of patent rights, in an effort to prove it invalid on November 19, 2012. But the patent office, which asked five professionals to establish a group to conduct the review, told Apple that the patent was valid.

Apple is suing State Intellectual Property Office of China for administrative litigation in accordance with related regulations, hoping it would revoke its validation of XiaoI Robot's patent.

The patent dispute was heard at Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on Thursday morning. During Thursday's trial, Yuan Yang, Zhizhen's attorney, refuted Apple's claim saying that their product was promoted prior to Siri.

The XiaoI Robot's patent was applied for in 2004 and was formally authorized in 2009. Pinpin Zhu, co-founder of XiaoI Robot, said "XiaoI Robot is very confident on its patent." 

Hui Yuan, founder of XiaoI Robot, claimed that the implementation mechanisms and pattern of Apple Siri are the same as XiaoI Robot's, but could not tell if that is a hundred percent infringement of intellectual property rights.

Judgment on the case is expected in one to three months.