The Verge reports: Israeli company Corephotonics filed a lawsuit against Apple yesterday, just as Apple was awarded $120 million by the Supreme Court after a prolonged battle with Samsung. Corephotonics, a maker of dual lens camera technology, claims that the cameras featured in the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus infringe on four of its patents.
The Israeli company was founded in 2012 by Dr. David Medlovic, a Tel Aviv University professor and former chief scientist in the Israeli government. Corephotonics claims in the lawsuit that it reached out to Apple “as one of its first acts as a company” to establish a strategic partnership. The exchanges with the tech giant continued for a while but never resulted in a license agreement for Corephotonics’ dual lens technology.
The relationship between Apple and Corephotonics then turned sour, the lawsuit alleges. It states, “Apple’s lead negotiator expressed contempt for Corephotonics’ patents, telling Dr. Mendlovic and others that even if Apple infringed, it would take years and millions of dollars in litigation before Apple might have to pay something.” Following that exchange, in January 2016, Corephotonics learned that Apple would be introducing the iPhone 7 Plus that year with a dual-aperture camera.
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