Apple Pay at Center of New Trade Secret Lawsuit

[MacRumors]

New York-based law firm Kasowitz LLP today announced that it is filing a lawsuit against Apple on behalf of its client, Texas-based company Fintiv, over alleged theft of mobile wallet technology used to create Apple Pay.

In a press release, the law firm said the complaint accuses Apple of violating U.S. federal and state RICO and trade secret laws.

According to the press release, the complaint alleges that Apple approached Fintiv's predecessor CorFire between 2011 and 2012, and received confidential technical information under non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Fintiv believed that Apple planned to license CorFire's mobile wallet technology, but said it instead stole the confidential information and later hired away key CorFire employees, before launching Apple Pay in 2014.

The lawsuit is being filed in a Northern Georgia district court.

"Apple's theft of Fintiv's technology is part of a pattern and practice that Apple has engaged in for years – falsely pretending to partner with companies in order to steal confidential and proprietary information under the guise of a working relationship, and thereafter hiring away key employees, all in order to steal the company's valuable intellectual property and use it to commercialize the business on its own," the complaint alleges.

The complaint cites Apple's "similar pernicious scheme" to steal trade secrets from Masimo to develop the Apple Watch's blood oxygen measuring feature.

MacRumors has yet to find the complaint in the U.S. court filing system, so these allegations and quotes are entirely relayed from the press release.

While this particular lawsuit in Georgia is new, Fintiv has been waging a legal battle against Apple since 2018, when it filed a patent infringement case against the company in Texas. That case was eventually dismissed, but an appeals court overturned the decision and remanded it to Texas for further proceedings. Earlier this week, a judge in Texas ruled that Apple did not infringe certain patents, and granted Fintiv's motion to dismiss the remaining claims. Now, the saga will shift to a Georgia court with the filing of this fresh lawsuit.

Article Link: Apple Pay at Center of New Trade Secret Lawsuit

 

[Hammerd]

Apple in hot water again

 

[MyOwnDrummer]

Is Fintiv a patent troll?

 

[MyOwnDrummer]

Apple in hot water again

What’s your basis for this claim? A lawsuit of this nature, possibly from a patent troll, does not rise to “in hot water”. So do you have information to substantiate your claim?

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Is Fintiv a patent troll?

Not as far as I can tell. The company is nearly 20 years old, and has produced digital wallet systems for a multitude of companies in over 30 countries.

However, their tie-ins with crypto atomically makes them sketchy in my book, so maybe?

 

[Hammerd]

What’s your basis for this claim? A lawsuit of this nature, possibly from a patent troll, does not rise to “in hot water”. So do you have information to substantiate your claim?

My guesstimate-o-meter

EDIT: Come-on fanboys, disagree faster!! 😂

 

[Dustin Lenzz]

…Apple (Didn’t) Pay…

 

[jz0309]

While this particular lawsuit in Georgia is new, Fintiv has been waging a legal battle against Apple since 2018, when it filed a patent infringement case against the company in Texas. That case was eventually dismissed, but an appeals court overturned the decision and remanded it to Texas for further proceedings. Earlier this week, a judge in Texas ruled that Apple did not infringe certain patents, and granted Fintiv's motion to dismiss the remaining claims. Now, the saga will shift to a Georgia court with the filing of this fresh lawsuit.

so, didn't get your way in Texas so trying another locale? Bizarre ...

 

[spazzcat]

They are also judge shopping.

Not as far as I can tell. The company is nearly 20 years old, and has produced digital wallet systems for a multitude of companies in over 30 countries.

However, their tie-ins with crypto atomically makes them sketchy in my book, so maybe?

While this particular lawsuit in Georgia is new, Fintiv has been waging a legal battle against Apple since 2018, when it filed a patent infringement case against the company in Texas. That case was eventually dismissed, but an appeals court overturned the decision and remanded it to Texas for further proceedings. Earlier this week, a judge in Texas ruled that Apple did not infringe certain patents, and granted Fintiv's motion to dismiss the remaining claims. Now, the saga will shift to a Georgia court with the filing of this fresh lawsuit.

 

[zarmanto]

so, didn't get your way in Texas so trying another locale? Bizarre ...

Bizarre indeed -- but common enough an activity that it actually has a name: venue shopping. It is perhaps slightly less common to venue shop after having already lost... but nonetheless, here we are.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Apple does this enough that it even has a name: Sherlocked.

 

[JPack]

Classic Apple MO.

They used the same tactic on Masimo.

 

[zarmanto]

Apple does this enough that it even has a name: Sherlocked.

Uh huh. And those of us who are in-the-know recognize that Watson copied Sherlock first, making the term "Sherlocked" into a bit of a farce.

 

[woolypants]

I do kinda wish Apple wasn't so nasty sometimes. I mean, they're a great company and score ethically higher than most others, especially in the swamp that Silicon Valley has turned into. But sometimes they just aren't very nice.

 

[coolfactor]

Apple does this enough that it even has a name: Sherlocked.

Likely not quite the same thing. Sherlocked apps existed on macOS or iOS before Apple eventually builds that functionality into the OS as a native feature or app. Did Fintiv have a mobile wallet app released for iPhones 14 years ago when Apple approached them?

 

[avkills]

This NDA ******** has to come to an end. People move from company to company all the time; and usually in the technical fields it is because said person has "some sort of knowledge" about how to do something and the poaching company has offered a better deal or shown it is a much better place to work.

And why now?! How long has ApplePay been around. It is like they wait forever before acting.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

How do these patent trolls and these lawyers live with themselves. Pure scum.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

How do these patent trolls and these lawyers live with themselves. Pure scum.

They actually produce products and services, and have for 18 years, so they aren't a patent troll.

They are, however, a scummy company and go judge-shopping when they don't get their way.

 

[zarmanto]

And why now?! How long has ApplePay been around. It is like they wait forever before acting.

If I were to speculate, I'd say it's likely because their existing B2B model is drying up and they're running out of money, so all that's left to prevent them from declaring bankruptcy is to litigate against their single most significant past negotiating failure.

I would further speculate that, rather than Apple "stealing" their trade secrets, Apple probably discovered that what they had wasn't anywhere near novel enough to warrant a business transaction -- but somehow, one employee managed to impress Apple during those negotiations, so Apple took that one good employee with them after they walked away from the table. Likewise, Apple was probably very intentional about directing that employee to avoid using anything from their previous employer that might be useful in a lawsuit against Apple... because that's what smart companies do.

Sometimes, the dominant corporation is the villian who steals from their competitors and then walks away while laughly maniacally. Sometimes, they're simply better able to deliver than those competitors.

 

[cupcakes2000]

What’s your basis for this claim? A lawsuit of this nature, possibly from a patent troll, does not rise to “in hot water”. So do you have information to substantiate your claim?

I would say that their basis is in the article they’re responding to. You can’t refute that in the manner you’re trying too. Ask the op for that.

 

[alonsapir]

Why did they wait so many years? Is there a statute of limitations?

 

[zarmanto]

Why did they wait so many years? Is there a statute of limitations?

Good question. According to AI, "In Georgia, the statute of limitations for trade secret misappropriation claims is three years." It'll be interesting to learn why the lawyers for Fintiv think that doesn't apply to them. Could it be because they're trying this in the federal court system?

Of course, the federal statute of limitations is also three years... but that doesn't seemed to have stopped them, so far.

 

[Plutonius]

There is no shortage of work for a law firm representing Apple .

 

[zarmanto]

There is no shortage of work for a law firm representing Apple .

Nor for those law firms representing their competitors.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

It only took them 11 years to get around to suing Apple!