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iPhone X: Apple being sued over 'Animoji' feature
21 Oct 2017
A Japanese company has sued Apple in a US court over the trademark for the term "animoji" which was used by Apple to promote a feature of its iPhone X.
Tokyo-based Emonster kk said that it holds the US trademark on the term "animoji", and Apple's use of the same was a "textbook case" of deliberate infringement.
Apple declined to comment.
An excerpt from Emonster's lawsuit
Fact
"Apple decided to take the name and pretend to the world that 'Animoji' was original to Apple," said Emonster in the complaint which was lodged to a federal court in San Francisco.
A brief history of "animoji"
Animoji
In 2014, Emonster had launched an animated texting app called Animoji and registered a trademark on the name.
In the iPhone X, the animoji feature allows users to animate the facial expressions of emojis using facial recognition software.
Apple's chief marketing officer Phil Schiller touted the feature during the iPhone X launch event on 12th September, calling it a "great experience".
Emonster seeking unspecified money damages from Apple
Lawsuit
In the lawsuit, Emonster said that Apple had used the term "animoji" despite being fully aware of Emonster's app which is available for download on Apple's App Store.
Emonster is now seeking unspecified money damages from Apple.
It is also pushing for a court order to block Apple from using the term till the lawsuit is resolved and the two companies reach a settlement.
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