Apple has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that many of its iPhone camera features, including Face ID, infringe on a series of patents owned by Gesture Technology Partners, founded by Dr. Timothy Pryor, the sole inventor of the five asserted patents.
Worldwide Marketing, Philip W. Schiller, explained Face ID during Apple’s September 12, 2017 event
Mike Peterson for AppleInsider:
The lawsuit, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Thursday, claims that Apple is knowingly infringing on five patents related to mobile phone cameras.
Specifically, those patents detail technologies that can “assist a user to interact with their smartphone,” which includes unlocking a devices, taking images or videos, and providing other capabilities… The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patents No. 8,194,924, 7,933,431, 8,878,949, and 8,553,079. According to the complaint, a range of different Apple features are infringing on the intellectual property. That list includes Face ID, Smart HDR, picture facial recognition, and optical image stabilization, among others.
Interestingly, the lawsuit also states that Apple and Dr. Pryor had a previous working relationship. “Apple has purchased patents and technologies from Dr. Pryor in the past including his ‘multi-touch’ patent portfolio in 2010,” the patent reads.
MacDailyNews Note: Here’s the Gesture Technology v. Apple complaint:
Gesture Technology Versus A… by Mike Wuerthele
Interns: TTK, please! Prost, everyone!🍻