After a nearly six months of investigation by the local intellectual property watchdog, the nation's first silicone rubber patent infringement case was settled through arbitration, Shaanxi Daily reported.

A Xi'an-based cultural and creative company has admitted infringing on two patents owned by the Xi'an Superman Sculpture Research Institute. It agreed to stop producing and selling statues it made using the technology and pay 200,000 yuan ($32,157) in compensation.

Experts from the city's IP office said the handling of the dispute would serve as a precedent for authorities in other provinces to improve IP protection in the field.

Established in 2001, the sculpture research institute was the first company in China to study and make silicone rubber statues and has become the country's largest manufacturer.

It is also the China's largest production center for life-like robotic statues.

The institute now owns nine patents and has provided more than 4,000 statues and emulation robots to more than 300 Chinese and overseas museums, memorial halls and science and technology museums.

Its products include statues of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Russian President Vladimir Putin, late South African leader Nelson Mandela and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

It also made a robot based on famous Chinese TV anchor Li Yong, which performed with the real man together at a gala in 2011.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn

Li Yong silicone robot (left) performs with the real man.