(Image courtesy of Meizu Me)

If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Chinese have been flattering U.S. tech companies for a loooong time. One of them, Meizu, has finally caught the attention of Apple’s attorneys.

Engadget is reporting that infamous copycat manufacturer Meizu may finally be getting Apple’s attention at long last. Anyone who has witnessed screenshots of the Chinese company’s M8 smartphone can attest to the fact that the software looks a little bit “iOS-like” (and that’s putting it mildly). The tech website has had some good fun over the last few years following Meizu’s antics, but it appears the good times may be coming to a close.



After rumblings earlier this month that Meizu CEO Jack Wong was feeling some heat from Apple’s attorneys over what he called “unreasonable negotiation tactics,” it appears that the Chinese copycat has bowed to pressure from local intellectual property officials there as well as Cupertino, shutting down production lines for their flagship M8.

“Apple requested that we cease manufacturing the M8 this month, we agreed but then [Apple] came back and asked for a sales ban instead,” the frustrated CEO explained in a post to the Meizu Me forums. “I can cope with a production freeze, but not with having our shops closed and thus not being able to use up our inventory. If Apple and the provincial IPO take another insatiable step, I can only go head to head against them.”

For their part, Apple claims simply that Meizu’s products have an “appearance roughly similar” to the iPhone -- and that’s all. It appears that Meizu’s elusive M9 model isn’t affected by the action just yet, with the Android-based phone on track for a December launch… assuming Meizu can survive until then.

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