German chemical group BASF has brought a patent infringement action against Apple before the federal court in Midland, in the Western District of Texas, claiming that numerous iPhone and iPad models infringe seven patents relating to facial authentication technologies owned by its subsidiary trinamiX. The complaint seeks damages in an unspecified amount and an injunction against the continuation of the contested conduct. Apple has not commented on the matter so far, and the allegations have not yet been tested in court.
According to the complaint, the story begins in 2010, when BASF researchers working on the development of organic solar cells arrived at unexpected results, which led to the construction of the first three-dimensional camera prototypes. In 2014 the group established trinamiX as a standalone entity, tasked with developing advanced three-dimensional and material sensing technologies. The company now states that it holds more than eight hundred patents, granted or pending, worldwide.
The patents at issue concern the detection of the properties of skin and materials during facial authentication, that is, the system’s ability to verify that the face presented to the device actually belongs to a person and is not a reproduction. The function addresses a known vulnerability of facial recognition systems, which can be circumvented using photographs, three-dimensional printed masks or silicone replicas.
According to trinamiX, Apple did not use the patented technology when Face ID was launched in 2017 with the iPhone X, but introduced it only at a later stage, when updating its devices. The accused products are in fact the more recent models, from the iPhone 15 onwards, together with certain iPad Pro models. The dispute therefore does not concern the entire commercial history of Face ID, but rather the implementation of material and skin detection functions.
The claimant alleges that Apple was aware of the high probability that introducing such functions into its devices would infringe trinamiX’s patents. Should the infringement be found to have been wilful, under American law the court may order an increase in damages of up to three times the amount awarded.
BASF sues Apple for infringement of its facial recognition patents
