Apple Wins Lawsuit Over iMessage’s ‘Memoji’ Facial Capture Tech

Apple Inc. fended off a suit alleging it ripped off patented technology with its Memoji feature, that allows smartphone users to create cartoonized images for text based on their own facial expressions.

FaceToFace Biometrics Inc., which sued Apple in April 2022 in a federal court in St. Louis, had sought damages for patent infringement based on sales of several iPhone and iPad models.

But Judge Catherine D. Perry ruled that the claims in FaceToFace’s patent—US Patent No. 11,042,623—are abstract in nature and, therefore, not patent eligible.

“The claims recite an abstract idea devoid of instructions or algorithms for accomplishing ...