Apple faces legal trouble over Face ID tech in iPhones, accused of infringing patents 

Apple is facing a lawsuit from German chemical company BASF over the technology used in Face ID on several iPhone and iPad models. BASF’s trinamiX unit has accused Apple of infringing seven patents related to face authentication. The company claims its technology helps make facial recognition systems safer by preventing spoofing attacks. Such attacks can involve using photographs, 3D-printed masks or silicone replicas. According to the lawsuit, Apple did not use the technology when it first introduced Face ID with the iPhone X in 2017. BASF claims the technology is now being used in several newer Apple devices, reports Reuters,

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The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Midland, Texas. BASF is seeking damages from Apple. It has also asked the court to stop Apple from continuing to use the technology that it says infringes its patents.

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In its complaint, BASF’s trinamiX said it spent about a decade working on technology designed to address security problems in traditional facial recognition systems. The company says its technology can detect whether the face in front of a camera is a real person rather than an attempt to fool the system.

According to the complaint, Apple was aware, or should have been aware, that its use of Face ID with material and skin detection could infringe trinamiX’s patents.

“Apple knew or ​should have known of the high probability that updating its iPhones ​and iPads to incorporate Face ID using material and skin detection” infringed seven ‌trinamiX ⁠patents, causing “substantial damages and irreparable injury,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit covers several Apple products, including certain iPhone 15, iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 models, along with iPad Pro devices and other products.

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BASF created trinamiX as a separate company in 2014. It focuses on 3D and material sensing technologies. The company says it currently holds more than 800 granted or pending patents worldwide.

Apple sold $196.5 billion iPhones and $21.7 billion iPads in the nine months ending June 27, according to the report.

Ayushi Jain

Ayushi works as Chief Copy Editor at Digit, covering everything from breaking tech news to in-depth smartphone reviews. Prior to Digit, she was part of the editorial team at IANS. View Full Profile