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Patent trollin’: Atlpass sues Apple over iPhone security features

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear patent-licensing company VirnetX’s bid to revive a $502.8 million jury verdict it won against Apple.

Another day, another lawsuit. As noted by AppleInsider, a non-practicing entity (in other words, a “patent troll”), Atlpass LLC, filed a legal broadside against Apple, claiming certain iPhone security features like user passcodes and other unlock methods infringe on owned patents.

Lodged in the patent holder-friendly U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the suit claims the smartphone infringes on a pair of patents that detail methods of creating digital signatures that can later be used for user authentication. This can include passcode and password creation, as well as Face ID technology, the complaint alleges.

A “patent troll” is an individual or an organization that purchases and holds patents for unscrupulous purposes such as stifling competition or launching patent infringement suits. In legal terms, a patent troll is a type of non-practicing entity: someone who holds a patent but is not involved in the design or manufacture of any product or process associated with that patent.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.