Apple hit with patent infringement lawsuit over iMessage and FaceTime encryption tech
Finnish holdings firm MPH Technologies has filed a fresh lawsuit on Apple in federal court accusing the company of patent-infringing with products including iMessage and FaceTime. MPH Technologies attempted to license its IP to Apple in 2016. The lawsuit is being filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The firm filed the lawsuit asserting eight patents relating to secure messaging solutions, targeting existing Apple software and services. This specially infringes on IP related to sending and forwarding messages over a secure connection. The lawsuit includes iMessage, FaceTime and Apple's always-on VPN feature, the latter being a mobile device management (MDM) solution marketed to corporations and educational institutions. According to MPH, Apple has implemented the protected tech in devices running macOS, iOS and watchOS without authorization. MPH claims that it has informed Apple about the patent infringement in a series of emails back in July 2016, this lead to a telephonic conversation with Apple's patent acquisitions executive. This later is followed by a letter in October 2016 detailing the applicability of MPH's patents and introduced Apple to a pending patent that was later granted. Months after reviewing MPH's documents, Apple sent a letter containing conclusory statements, saying it did not "believe a license is required, as the ... 
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