BASF sues Apple over alleged facial-recognition patent infringement

BASF has sued Apple in the United States, accusing the iPhone maker of using patented facial-recognition technology from its subsidiary trinamiX without authorization.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in a U.S. district court in Midland, Texas. BASF is seeking damages in an unspecified amount and an injunction barring the alleged infringement. Apple had not commented when the case was reported.

The complaint says trinamiX spent the past decade developing technology designed to address a weakness in conventional facial-recognition systems. Those systems can be tricked with photographs, 3D-printed masks and silicone replicas, according to the filing.

BASF says Apple did not use the patented technology when it introduced Face ID with the iPhone X in 2017. The company alleges that the technology is now used in several products, including the iPhone 15, iPhone 16, iPhone 17 and iPad Pro. It claims Apple knew or should have known that the products infringed seven trinamiX patents and caused “substantial and irreparable harm.”

The complaint traces trinamiX’s origins to unexpected discoveries made by BASF scientists researching organic solar cells in 2010. BASF established the company as an independent business in 2014 to develop 3D and material-recognition technologies. According to the filing, trinamiX holds more than 800 granted or pending patents worldwide. Apple sold $196.5 billion worth of iPhones and $21.7 billion worth of iPads in the nine months through June 27.

“

substantial and irreparable harm