Apple Is Sued for Patent Damages on iMessage’s ‘Memoji’ Feature

Apple Inc. was hit with a lawsuit alleging that iMessage’s Memoji feature, which allows users to create an animated, emoji-styled avatar that can “match a user’s personality and mood,” infringes a patent issued last June for technology that recognizes facial expressions in messaging systems.

FaceToFace Biometrics Inc., which filed the complaint Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, seeks damages from sales of 15 of the latest iPhones—from the iPhone X through the iPhone 13 Pro Max—and of all generations of the 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

The devices “automatically generate a dynamic emoticon that ...