Apple smartwatches have a feature called Auto Unlock that is tied to the Apple ecosystem. Apple users can easily unlock their Macbooks and iPhones using this feature, which eliminates the need for a password or Face ID. The company first announced this feature in June of 2016.
According to a report from Patently Apple, a company called SmartWatch MobileConcepts LLC is suing Apple for patent infringement in relation to the Auto Unlock feature. Patent 10,362,480, titled "Systems, Methods, and Apparatuses for Enabling Wearable Device User Access to Secured Electronics Systems," is the patent that SmartWatch MobileConcepts LLC is referring to. The firm purchased the patent from members of the Ortiz family.
According to the report, this appears to be a case of patent trolling aimed at forcing the Cupertino behemoth to pay a settlement or settle a legal dispute. For the uninitiated, a patent troll is a pejorative term for a company that makes money by exploiting patents and the legal system.
However, things may not go according to plan for SmartWatch MobileConcepts LLC, as the above-mentioned patent was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on August 11, 2016, almost two months before Apple announced the feature during WWDC 2016, which took place from June 13 to June 17, almost two months before the patent was filed. It's still unclear how the court will rule on this case, so stay tuned for more information.
