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| Image Source: askipedia.com |
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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| Image Source: fedtechmagazine.com |
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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| Image Source: yahoo.com |
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.
