Apple Faces Lawsuit Over Continuity Camera Patent and Antitrust Claims

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Apple this week got sued in a New Jersey Federal court by the maker of mobile video app Camo, alleging Apple stole its technology when the company integrated its Continuity Camera feature into iOS 16 in 2022.

continuity camera
Released by London-based Reincubate in 2020, the Camo app enables iPhone and Android smartphones to be used as webcams for desktop-based video calls.

Apple's Continuity Camera serves a similar function within its own ecosystem, allowing an iPhone to be used as a wireless webcam with a nearby Mac that is signed into the same Apple Account.

Reincubate said the tech giant copied patented features from its Camo app and incorporated them into its mobile operating system in order to "redirect user demand to Apple's own platform-tied offering."

According to the lawsuit, Apple "actively induced and encouraged" Reincubate to develop and market Camo for iOS, then later copied its functionality and built it into iOS as Continuity Camera.

"In most of those cases, Apple has not actively induced the developer to test and build software," the lawsuit said. "Here, Apple actively cultivated a relationship of trust with Reincubate, induced the company to share technical details, beta builds, and market data, and leveraged that privileged access to inform its own development of Continuity Camera."

Reincubate called Apple's conduct an example of "Sherlocking," which refers to Apple building an app or system feature that duplicates functionality previously offered by a third-party app.

"Rather than competing with us, Apple deployed a series of obstacles to tilt the playing field, infringed our IP, and did so in service of preventing competition from rival platforms," Reincubate CEO Aidan Fitzpatrick said in a statement given to Reuters.

"Apple competes fairly while respecting the intellectual property rights of others, and these camera features were developed internally by Apple engineers," Apple responded in a statement.

Aside from accusing Apple of infringing its patents, Reincubate's suit was filed as an antitrust claim, alleging that Apple violates U.S. law by locking users into its ecosystem and preventing them from switching to competitors. Reincubate has requested unspecified monetary damages and court orders that would block Apple's alleged misconduct.

Tags: Apple Antitrust, Continuity, Apple Lawsuits

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Top Rated Comments

topgunn Avatar
topgunn
5 days ago at 05:00 am

"In most of those cases, Apple has not actively induced the developer to test and build software," the lawsuit said. "Here, Apple actively cultivated a relationship of trust with Reincubate, induced the company to share technical details, beta builds, and market data, and leveraged that privileged access to inform its own development of Continuity Camera."

That is wild - pure evil tactics.
Which is exactly what you would say if you were bringing a suit against one of the largest tech giants in the world. It doesn't mean it's true.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neuropsychguy Avatar
neuropsychguy
5 days ago at 05:17 am

"In most of those cases, Apple has not actively induced the developer to test and build software," the lawsuit said. "Here, Apple actively cultivated a relationship of trust with Reincubate, induced the company to share technical details, beta builds, and market data, and leveraged that privileged access to inform its own development of Continuity Camera."

That is wild - pure evil tactics.
While their version of events might be true, it’s also possible that it is not true and this lawsuit is completely without merit. Why are the people in the company that instigated that lawsuit automatically more trustworthy than Apple? Do you know them personally and know the history of what really happened?

I think the wisest approach is to withhold judgment until the case is done.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
jonnysods
5 days ago at 04:39 am
"In most of those cases, Apple has not actively induced the developer to test and build software," the lawsuit said. "Here, Apple actively cultivated a relationship of trust with Reincubate, induced the company to share technical details, beta builds, and market data, and leveraged that privileged access to inform its own development of Continuity Camera."

That is wild - pure evil tactics.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisMac47 Avatar
ChrisMac47
5 days ago at 05:05 am

So the maker of the hardware and software for all the products, has to find a no name mom and pops to make its camera work with its own devices? I mean it doesn’t even sound right.
Apple uses a lot of third-party SW to drive its hardware (I worked for a company supplying them and other phone integrators). They usually operate by initially licensing it, but after a couple of years stop paying the license fees, claiming they are using their own SW. That's either a blatant lie, or their own SW is just a crude copy. In this case, they apparently did not even bother licensing.

This is the DNA of Apple. They are so big and wealthy, they use their size to bully small companies. The other large tech companies do the same in their determination to get their own way.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zarmanto Avatar
zarmanto
5 days ago at 06:09 am

Can you patent ideas?
As Apple learned, many, many years ago ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/partiful-calls-apple-a-copycat-for-new-invites-app.2448774/post-33716922'), the answer to that tends to vary from one idea to the next.

Some life lessons that we all need to learn to appreciate:

* The big guy isn't always the bad guy... but sometimes, they are.
* The little guy isn't always crying wolf... but sometimes, they are.
* Ideas aren't always patentable... but sometimes, they are.
* The situation is almost never as clean and straightforward as armchair litigators wish to believe.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macdisciple Avatar
macdisciple
5 days ago at 05:16 am

"In most of those cases, Apple has not actively induced the developer to test and build software," the lawsuit said. "Here, Apple actively cultivated a relationship of trust with Reincubate, induced the company to share technical details, beta builds, and market data, and leveraged that privileged access to inform its own development of Continuity Camera."

That is wild - pure evil tactics.
I mean, maybe, but "victims" will use the most inflammatory language possible in order to win the highest award possible.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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