Apple this week got sued in a New Jersey Federal court by the maker of mobile video app Camo, alleging Apple stole its technology when the company integrated its Continuity Camera feature into iOS 16 in 2022.
Released by London-based Reincubate in 2020, the Camo app enables iPhone and Android smartphones to be used as webcams for desktop-based video calls.
Apple's Continuity Camera serves a similar function within its own ecosystem, allowing an iPhone to be used as a wireless webcam with a nearby Mac that is signed into the same Apple Account.
Reincubate said the tech giant copied patented features from its Camo app and incorporated them into its mobile operating system in order to "redirect user demand to Apple's own platform-tied offering."
According to the lawsuit, Apple "actively induced and encouraged" Reincubate to develop and market Camo for iOS, then later copied its functionality and built it into iOS as Continuity Camera.
"In most of those cases, Apple has not actively induced the developer to test and build software," the lawsuit said. "Here, Apple actively cultivated a relationship of trust with Reincubate, induced the company to share technical details, beta builds, and market data, and leveraged that privileged access to inform its own development of Continuity Camera."
Reincubate called Apple's conduct an example of "Sherlocking," which refers to Apple building an app or system feature that duplicates functionality previously offered by a third-party app.
"Rather than competing with us, Apple deployed a series of obstacles to tilt the playing field, infringed our IP, and did so in service of preventing competition from rival platforms," Reincubate CEO Aidan Fitzpatrick said in a statement given to Reuters.
"Apple competes fairly while respecting the intellectual property rights of others, and these camera features were developed internally by Apple engineers," Apple responded in a statement.
Aside from accusing Apple of infringing its patents, Reincubate's suit was filed as an antitrust claim, alleging that Apple violates U.S. law by locking users into its ecosystem and preventing them from switching to competitors. Reincubate has requested unspecified monetary damages and court orders that would block Apple's alleged misconduct.
