OnePlus could be sued for patent infringement over the 5T's Face Unlock feature

OnePlus might be in some legal trouble if some reports are to be believed.According to a report published by MySmartPrice, OnePlus is facing a possible patent infringement lawsuit that revolves around the Face Unlock facial recognition system on the OnePlus 5T.

Image Source: Android Authority

SensibleVision is a company that works on facial recognition and biometric systems. George Brostoff, CEO and co-founder of SensibleVision claims that at least one of his company’s patents was infringed on by OnePlus’ Face Unlock system. One of the patents that he believed was used without permission, allows a phone’s screen to be used as an illuminator. Based on a video released by Forbes that shows Face Unlock in action, Brostoff claims that OnePlus is “likely infringing at the very least on our illumination patent.”

George Brostoff, CEO, Co-founder, SensibleVision said:

This is nothing new. We have been doing this for years. It even appears that they may be using several patented technologies. We have not licensed our patents to OnePlus or their supplier. From the video on Forbes, they are likely infringing at the very least on our illumination patent.

This is the definition of the patent in question right now:

A camera is used for providing images to the facial recognition software where the display operates in a first mode for displaying images to a user and in a second mode for illuminating the user’s face for detection by the camera.

It is also worth noting that patents are only valid in jurisdictions where they were granted. So, unless SensibleVision filed a patent application or was granted a patent for the illumination technology in China, there is no infringement, since the company is based in the US.

It doesn’t appear that SensibleVision has yet taken a legal step towards addressing the issue. Stay tuned for more updates regarding this possible legal battle.

By the way, you might want to keep the company name of SensibleVision in mind. Next year, it will launch its facial recognition system on certain Android phones.

Source: MySmartPrice and Android Authority