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<\/a><\/p>\nSHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese search engine giant Baidu has filed lawsuits against “relevant” app developers and Apple Inc over fake copies of its Ernie bot app available on Apple’s app store.<\/p>\n
The company’s artificial intelligence powered Ernie bot, launched last month, has been touted as China’s closest answer to the U.S.-developed chatbot ChatGPT.<\/p>\n
Baidu said it had lodged lawsuits in Beijing Haidian People’s Court against the developers behind the counterfeit applications of its Ernie bot and the Apple company. <\/p>\n
“At present, Ernie does not have any official app,” Baidu said in a statement late on Friday posted on its official “Baidu AI” WeChat account. <\/p>\n
It also posted a photograph of its court filing.<\/p>\n
“Until our company’s official announcement, any Ernie app you see from App Store or other stores are fake,” it said.<\/p>\n
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
A Reuters search on Saturday found there were still at least four apps bearing the Chinese-language name of the Ernie bot, all fake, in Apple’s App Store.<\/p>\n
The Ernie bot is only available to users who apply for and receive access codes. In its statement, Baidu also warned against people selling access codes. <\/p>\n
\n(Reporting by Jason Xue and Brenda Goh; Editing by Robert Birsel)<\/p>\n
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