It's being reported today that Chinese artificial intelligence company Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co., Ltd., also known as Xiao-i, has filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc, alleging it has infringed on its patents.

Reuters is reporting that the company is calling for US$1.43 billion (10 billion yuan) in damages and demands that Apple cease "manufacturing, using, promising to sell, selling, and importing" products that infringe on the patent, it said in a social media post.

Xiao-i argued that Apple’s voice-recognition technology Siri infringes on a patent that it applied for in 2004 and was granted in 2009.

The lawsuit marks the continuation of a row that has been ongoing for nearly a decade.

Shanghai Zhizhen first sued Apple for patent infringement in 2012 regarding its voice recognition technology. In July, China’s Supreme People’s court ruled that the patent was valid.

Patently Apple posted a report back in February 2014 titled "Apple Sues Chinese Patent Office over Sir." The lawsuit included Shanghai Zhizhen now suing Apple.

A second report on this matter was covered back in April 2015 titled "Beijing's Higher Court Ordered the Case against Apple for Patent Infringement Regarding Siri to be reversed."

Our second report concluded by stating that "The Beijing Higher People's Court upheld Apple's appeal, ordering the Chinese agency to reverse its decision. "The move means Apple's Siri voice recognition system did not infringe the protected rights of other patents."

So why is this patent infringement case back in the news? Is the U.S. push against TikTok behind this latest move? Until Apple comments on the matter, it's difficult to know if politics is playing any role in this new patent infringement case or not.