Another day, another lawsuit. Firstface, a Korean mobile tech solutions firm, is suing Apple for copying a feature for Touch ID to unlock the smartphone screen through bitometric sensor-based user authentication, reports The Korea Herald.
Touch ID is a fingerprint recognition feature that allows users to unlock Apple devices, make purchases in the various Apple digital media stores (the iTunes Store, the App Store, and the iBooks Store), and authenticate Apple Pay online or in apps.
Firstface co-CEO Jung Jae-lark has registered its own patents in multiple nations including Korea, Japan, and the US since 2011 on a solution that enables users to unlock the smartphone home screen immediately after they authenticate themselves by pressing their fingers on the fingerprint sensor-installed home button.
Shim Young-tack, another Firstface co-CEO, said he and Jung are working together with US attorney and patent lawyer Lee Jae-gyu. He also said the CEOs approached Apple to find a middle ground for the case by inking a licensing deal, but the tech giant rejected the offer, according to The Korea Herald.
