Lately some companies often demand each other about patents. Apple is one of the companies that is often sued by patent troll companies, and now comes from the Korean Firstface Company that claims to have a fingerprint scanner patent, built in the home button on a smartphone, a.k.a Apple Touch ID.
Firstface Co-CEO Jung Jae-lark has registered his own patents in several countries including Korea, Japan and the US since 2011. The patent lets users unlock the smartphone screen as soon as they authenticate themselves by pressing their fingers on the fingerprint of the keypad home-mounted sensors.
The solution that activates the smart phone screen after authenticating a user's fingerprint is something that has never happened before Jung's discovery.
Shim said that he had suggested Apple grant a patent license from Firstface, but the Cupertino company refused to do so.
The Korean Business Report indicates that Firstface may be a patent troll specifically set up to file a lawsuit, describing the company as a 'joint venture.'
Reportedly, kites allegations about the patent will also be targeted to Samsung. Firstface also claims a patent in the field of face recognition, opening the possibility that it may also accuse Apple of patent infringement for Face ID.
Troll patents, a company set up for the sole purpose of purchasing a patent and then initiating a lawsuit over alleged infringement, is a constant nuisance to Apple. Many cases are filed in East Texas, jurisdictions that often benefit trolls.
To note, Apple has just come out of another lawsuit by a patent troll. The company had to pay 500 million US dollars to VirnetX Holding Corp. for violating FaceTime related patents, VPN on Demand and iMessage.