Lunar New Year 2023

Happy Lunar New Year to all of those celebrating the beginning of the ‘Year of the Rabbit’ on Sunday 22 January.

Apple launched its digital personal assistant software, Siri, in 2011. The iPhone software’s voice recognition, and back and forth conversation meant that Siri was one of the first AI-based virtual assistants.

Before iPhone and Android, however, BlackBerry (launched in 1999) dominated the market with 85 million subscribers worldwide in September 2011. Why the name ‘Blackberry’? The name was chosen because of the resemblance of the keyboard's tiny keys to that of the drupelets that compose the blackberry fruit, and black was the colour when it was first released.

Looking at medicine and science, 1987 was when the first heart and lung transplant took place, and the first successful surgical separation of craniopagus twins. The discovery of the DNA sequence of CRISPR also occurred in 1987, a gene editing process that has a wide variety of applications including basic biological research, the development of biotechnological products, and the treatment of diseases.

We’re intrigued to see what’s to come in 2023, another ‘Year of the Rabbit’, commonly referred to as the luckiest of all the twelve animals. Our team can help protect your innovation, get in touch for further information.

Happy Lunar New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai, from our team to yours.