Apple Pay at Center of New Trade Secret Lawsuit

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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.

apple pay feature dynamic island
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.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Apple Lawsuits
Related Forum: Apple Music, Apple Pay/Card, iCloud, Fitness+

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Top Rated Comments

MyOwnDrummer Avatar
MyOwnDrummer
3 weeks ago

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?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
jz0309
3 weeks ago

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 ('https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/case-patents-procedure-w-d-tex-12') 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 ...
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dustin Lenzz Avatar
Dustin Lenzz
3 weeks ago
…Apple (Didn’t) Pay…
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MyOwnDrummer Avatar
MyOwnDrummer
3 weeks ago
Is Fintiv a patent troll?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spazzcat Avatar
spazzcat
3 weeks ago
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 ('https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/case-patents-procedure-w-d-tex-12') 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.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zarmanto Avatar
zarmanto
3 weeks ago

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.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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