Apple smartwatches offer a unique functionality tied into the Apple ecosystem called Auto Unlock. Using this feature, Apple users can easily unlock their Macbooks and iPhones without the need for a password or Face ID. This feature was first announced in June 2016 by the company.
Now, according to a Patently Apple report, a company called SmartWatch MobileConcepts LLC is suing the Cupertino giant on grounds of patent infringement regarding the Auto Unlock feature. The patent the company SmartWatch MobileConcepts LLC is referring to is patent 10,362,480 titled “Systems, Methods, and Apparatuses for Enabling Wearable Device user Access to Secured Electronics Systems”. The patent was acquired by the firm from the members of the Ortiz family.
According to the report, this appears to be an instance of patent trolling to make the Cupertino giant cough up some cash via a settlement or a legal dispute. For those unaware, a patent troll is a derogatory term used to describe a business that utilizes patents and the court system to earn money.
However, things might not go as planned for SmartWatch MobileConcepts LLC as the above-mentioned patent was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on August 11, 2016, whereas, Apple announced this feature during WWDC 2016 which ran between June 13 to June 17, almost two months before the patent was filed. It remains to be seen how the court will decide upon this matter, so stay tuned for more updates.
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