Apple Defeats Patent Lawsuit in Texas Related to Face ID and Touch ID

A jury for the U.S. District Court for Western Texas on Friday found that the Secure Enclave built into modern Apple devices does not infringe four user verification patents owned by the company "Identity Security LLC," according to Bloomberg Law.

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Apple introduced the Secure Enclave in 2013 in the iPhone 5s, the first iPhone with Touch ID, and it is now used in all iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and HomePod models. Apple says the Secure Enclave is a secure subsystem within its chips that is designed to keep sensitive user data secure, including Touch ID and Face ID data.

Identity Security LLC had sued Apple for patent infringement in 2021. It is not immediately clear if the company plans to appeal the jury's verdict.

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Top Rated Comments

easy4lif Avatar
7 months ago
Never feed the Patent trolls! Only more will show up!
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avatar77 Avatar
7 months ago
How has big tech not pushed harder for serious patent reform? When our forefathers were patenting little machines, fine, because they more or less had to build it to get the patent. But now companies can just patent vague tech they have no capacity or intent to build. It has to stop.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baritone_Guy Avatar
7 months ago
West Texas is patent troll home ground.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
7 months ago
On one hand, it seems like the patents that they’re talking about in the lawsuit are exactly what the Secure Enclave is. So maybe they had a case.

But on the other hand, when I look up the company, I see no information on them except the patents they filed. No website, no products, no services, no anything. The only reference I can even find to them on LinkedIn is the law firm they’re being represented by, Cabello Hall Zinda.

So definitely a patent troll.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
7 months ago
I like how this so called company without any online presence, wanted to claim everything Apple sold was infringing on their four odd patients.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Arislan Avatar
7 months ago

I like how this so called company without any online presence, wanted to claim everything Apple sold was infringing on their four odd patients.
That's how most patent trolls roll. They have a patent that either they partnered with the creator or bought it which could maybe sort of not really be related to something a large company is doing. They ask for a license fee or offer to sell it to the big company. It makes me sick, but a lot of companies pay this because in the long run it's cheaper than litigating. I helped my company fend off one of these jerks. They dropped everything when they realized we had enough prior art to invalidate their [S]scam[/S] patents. Patent laws need an overhaul and trolls need consequences.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)