Leak inquisition continues as Xiaomi hits media company with US$155k fine for Mi Mix 4 leak

The war against leaks continues. Last year, Xiaomi threatened brimstone on a media house that leaked the Mi 10 Ultra ahead of launch. Something similar happened before the Mi Mix 4 was launched last week, and the company's stance on leaks appears to be unchanged.

Two days before the Mi Mix 4 was released, a new leak detailed the device in its entirety, revealing Xiaomi press material and all information about the flagship phone. The leak appears to have been from a media company, and the smartphone maker has promptly hit the company with a massive CNY 1,000,000 fine. That converts into about US$155,000 and should dissuade similar occurrences in the future.

While Xiaomi is well within its right to pursue the case in this manner—non-disclosure agreements were broken without a doubt—some may consider this to be excessive. Pre-launch leaks hardly do any damage to sales after all. On the contrary, they create hype for fans. The true danger here, however, is to leakers who have no such legally binding agreements with the company. Samsung, last month, for example, issued copyright strikes on media showcasing unreleased products. Again, legally correct by the company—but perhaps a tad unnecessary.

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