Xiaomi Uses Apple Video to Advertise Its Rip-Off ‘Mimoji’ Phone

Tianyu M. Fang, reporting for Caixin Global:

Xiaomi’s augmented-reality avatar set, Mimoji, is definitely not a clone of Apple’s Memoji — they just look very similar and happen to share identical-sounding names — the Chinese company clarified last week.

But ads for Apple’s Memoji and Apple Music have been embedded on Xiaomi’s product page for the Mi CC9 smartphone on e-commerce platforms JD.com and Suning, in lieu of original Xiaomi graphics, a Weibo user found on Friday.

The rip-off is what it is — Xiaomi being Xiaomi. China just doesn’t have a culture where intellectual property is respected, but Xiaomi takes it to an absurd level.

What gets me is the news media treating this as a dispute. Some say it’s a copy of Apple’s Memoji feature, Xiaomi says it’s a coincidence. It’s ridiculous. Xiaomi didn’t “accidentally” include Apple’s videos on its website. If you had video of a guy shoplifting items, you wouldn’t say he “accidentally” didn’t pay for them just because that was his own bullshit excuse after he was caught. You’d say he stole them. That’s how Xiaomi should be written about — as kleptomaniacal IP thieves.

★ Friday, 5 July 2019