Apple Hit with New Lawsuit Over iMessage and FaceTime Encryption Tech

iOS 12 FaceTime Group Call Featured

Apple has been subjected to a lawsuit over iMessage and FaceTime for infringing on eight patents of Finnish company MPH Technology.

The always-on VPN feature of iOS, a feature primarily used for mobile device management (MDM) by enterprises and corporations, is also a part of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that MPH tried to license the technology used in iMessage and FaceTime to Apple in 2016 and 2017 to no avail. The Finnish company informed Apple about the patent breach in 2016 first.

MPH and Apple representatives discussed the matter further, going so far as to hold multiple teleconference sessions in May 2017 regarding a potential licensing agreement. During one of those calls, Apple counsel intimated the company was preparing an analysis of MPH’s patents demonstrating the IP was invalid based on prior art. That analysis was never delivered.

Direct communications between the two companies seemingly ended in July 2017, with MPH sending notification of two patent grants and Apple acknowledging the message with a brief reply indicating a future response was soon to follow.

After multiple back-and-forths, Apple’s patent counsel team said it did not “believe a license is required, as the asserted patents are not infringed and/or invalid as MPH appears to be interpreting the claims.”

MPH is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages from Apple for patent infringement and wants a permanent injunction on the further use of its eight patented technology.

Apple was previously subjected to a patent lawsuit by VirnetX — a patent troll — for FaceTime which it eventually lost.

[Via AppleInsider]

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