Investing.com – Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was the second largest decliner on the Dow on Friday as China ordered the firm to stop iPhone 6 sales in Beijing.
The Chinese intellectual property regulator determined that Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was too similar in design to the 100 C phone made by Chinese company Shenzhen Baili.
The Beijing Property Bureau ruled that “the differences are so tiny that the average customer could not notice,” explaining that the decision falls into the category protecting patent rights.
It was another challenge for Apple in what its second largest market outside of the U.S.
Falling sales in China were partly responsible for causing Apple’s first quarterly revenue decline in 13 years when it report earnings back in April.
However, it was not clear how much the ruling would affect the tech firm as the iPhone 6 was likely to be phased out in September 2016 prior to the expected release of a new model.
At 14:10GMT, or 10:10AM ET, Apple was the second largest decliner on the Dow Jones index with losses of 1.65%.
Merck (NYSE:MRK)&Co. led the losses on the blue chip index, dropping nearly 2% as investors took profits.
The drug maker led the higher on Thursday, closing with gains of 2.5%.