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Apple hasn't hosted its September 12 media event yet, or even announced that a new iPhone is coming, but that isn't stopping GooPhone from promising to sue the company for stealing its smartphone design. That design, by the way, is based on parts that are allegedly for the upcoming next generation iPhone.
Since its Android-based smartphone clone maker released a phone based on what the next iPhone is expected to look like, the company reckons, when Apple unveils its smartphone with the same design, Apple is the copycat.
The GooPhone I5 sports a 4-inch display, headphone jack on the bottom edge of the phone, a mostly metal back, and a small dock connector port. If that sounds familiar, it's because that's the rumored description for the next generation iPhone, too.
Gizchina said GooPhone claims to have already nabbed a Chinese patent for its iPhone 5-ish design. If so, the company could potentially try to stop Apple from selling the next iPhone model in China, or even try to block exports to other countries. At the very least, it's a safe bet that GooPhone will try to squeeze at least a few yuan out of Apple -- assuming there's at least a passing resemblance between the I5 and new iPhone.