• by Ben Frederick  @mp_benfred, June 17, 2016

iPhones 6 and 6 Plus are too similar to the design of a Chinese phone, according to Beijing’s intellectual property regulator.

Sales of the models in the city have been stopped after the designs apparently bore more than a passing resemblance to the 100C, made by the Chinese company Shenzhen Baili.

The phones are still being sold nationwide until a higher court makes a final decision.

According to this week’s ruling, “Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have minor differences from Baili’s 100C. The differences are so tiny that the average customer could not notice. So, this case falls into the patent rights protection category.”

Apple tried to make nice with the country by investing $1 billion in China’s version of Uber, called Didi Chuxing Technology Co., but China is still taking a contrarian approach to the company.

Apple apparently planned to end production of both models soon anyway, as the release date of the iPhone 7 creeps closer. But the ruling is another slap in the face. The company lost a trademark battle regarding the iPad and had to fork over $60 million to a different Chinese company.

Regulators also shut down iTunes Movies and iBooks back in April, reportedly saying the company didn’t have the right licenses.

Apple has appealed the ruling in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court.