Lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit, Apple doesn’t seem to be catching a break anytime soon.
Apple was already fighting fires, thanks to the iOS 11 woes and the supply constraints of the much awaited iPhone X. Now, another report has revealed that Apple has been slapped with a trademark infringement lawsuit yet again.
The company was already neck deep in lawsuits and the latest to sue Apple is a Japanese software company. You must be wondering what could Apple possibly steal from a Japanese software firm. Does the term “animoji” ring a bell? Yeah, it’s the same term that Tim Cook and team used to describe the animated emoji feature of the iPhone X. A company called Emonster is claiming that has stolen this name from them.
The Tokyo-based firm says that “Apple made the conscious decision to try to pilfer the name for itself.” And thus sued Apple in federal court in San Francisco.
The Difference Between Emonster’s “Amoji” and Apples’ “Amoji.”
Emonster launched an iOS app in 2014 named “Amoji”. The app allowed the users to send animated emoji in a loop making it look like a gif. The original “Amoji” app is still up for grabs on iTunes for $0.99.
Meanwhile, iPhone X’s “Amoji” feature has used its facial recognition tech to transform a user’s face into a gif like emoji. Not sure if that’s gonna help win the lawsuit! Apple, however, disagrees mentioning that as both the app and the feature are on the same platform and involve moving animation.
The Battle of the Lawsuits
There also have been rumours of Apple trying to buy the trademark. And when Emonster turned down the proposal, the American tech giant made a rather bold move of continuing with the name “Amoji” as a feature in the iPhone X.
In hopes of countering the recent lawsuit, Apple filed a petition to cancel the trademark. Well, we all know how that turned out in the past. Emonster, on the other hand, stands to gain much more than just the name “Amoji” back from the lawsuit. The firm is said to be seeking an unnamed amount of money and a court order blocking Apple to use the term “Amoji” ever again. Let’s wait and watch how this courtroom drama ends.