Apple gets patent for facial recognition and device control

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Apple Inc. recently acquired the rights to a patent for facial recognition on mobile devices. The US Patent and Trademark Office granted the patent last December 3.

“The patent details a system and method that would allow Apple devices to detect users' faces. The patent says Apple devices would be able to recognize if the users standing in front of the gadgets are ‘authorized.’ If they are, users could then control some aspects of their gadgets with just their faces.”

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The concept of facial recognition is not entirely new. Mobile makers working with the Android system were the first to come out with a similar unlocking function in their devices. However, the feature was criticized for introducing more security issues.




Aside from unlocking, the patent grants the technology to determine access to certain information through facial recognition. For example, if a call comes in and the face looking into it is recognized by the device, caller ID and other details will be shown. If the face is not listed as one of the users of the device, all of the data will be blocked.

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Score another one for Apple in their long battle with Samsung, as this further strengthens their stranglehold on functionalities in mobile devices through patent registration.

Brad Lyerla is a trusted advisor on copyright and patent disputes. Get updates on related developments in intellectual property by following this Twitter account.

The ins and outs of patent and trade secret litigation

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One of the most important factors to achieve success in business is the ability to protect and effectively leverage one’s patents and trade secrets. This is why many businesses work closely with legal advisors to form better strategies that defend the company’s most valued assets from other entities that seek to unlawfully copy or steal their revolutionary ideas or products.

Mr. Brad Lyerla, a partner at Jenner & Block, is among the nation’s foremost attorneys on intellectual property litigation. He has several years of experience in handling patent and trade secret cases and his litigation has involved a wide variety of technologies, industries, and disciplines including applied mathematics, communications, electrical and software engineering, computing, computer chips, medical devices, chemicals, food science, manufacturing, consumer products, aeronautics and pharmaceuticals. The extent of his practice has made him a thought leader in his field and many of his clients have described him as a brilliant strategist as he handles complex patent cases with dexterity.

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In his years of work, Atty. Lyerla has shown a high level of ethical standards and legal ability in competition and legal property disputes. He has used the knowledge he has gained over the years to bring creative approaches to every engagement with the aim to hasten resolution. Through his methods, he has opened opportunities for early and favorable results for many of his clients.

Meanwhile, his expertise is not limited to courts and he is known to regularly speak and publish articles on issues related to patent and trade secret litigation. One of his articles, titled “Understand the Two Approaches to Claim Construction,” has been cited and quoted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as secondary authority in its 2012 opinion involving patent claim construction in MySpace, Inc. v. GraphOn Corporation, 2011-1149 (Fed. Cir. March 2, 2012).

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Find more information about Atty. Brad Lyrela’s work through the Jenner & Block website.