Apple files for Face and Presence Detection patent.

[syndicate0017]

Karma needs to swoop in and give Apple a swift kick to the groin...Does Apple make a good product? Yes. So let the product speak for ITSELF. No need to resort to litigation on everything. The patent system is clearly flawed. When are they going to finally realize this and revoke all these bogus patents and deny the ridiculous patent requests?

[jkhonea]

OK, please tell me all of you actually read that this patent was entered in 2010, before ICS had even previewed Facial Recognition. Please.

[Narsil]

It's not a mobile feature but Alienware computers have had face-recognition security for a while now; I'm pretty sure it's more than a couple years old but I'm not sure. I don't have to even log onto Windows with my M17X which I got in December of 2010. All I have to do is show it my face and it recognizes me and logs me into Windows. I can even have it set up so that when I step away from the computer it automatically locks Windows until it sees my face again whereupon it automatically unlocks.

Granted, that's on a laptop, not a phone/tablet but I'd think Apple would have a difficult time patenting the idea if Alienware (or from whoever Alienware licensed the code) patented it already.

[anhanymouse]

My 5 year old asus laptop has facial recognition...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

[smokiedabong]

What the hell, my 2008 Samsung phone had facial recognition in it's camera application, Google has developed facial recognition software before 2009 cause in '09 Picasa had this feature integrated. Actually development for facial recognition by a computer goes back to 1960, was Jobs even born back then? Police had been using this technology for a lot of time for CCTV systems and to match faces to a photo database. And I know there were a couple of security software for Windows doing the same thing. This is just ridiculous, I'll be pissed if the feature is removed from Android, I'm using it every day and it works great for me, my phone recognizes me every single time even in low light such as during night driving or in front of my monitor. I don't care if somebody can unlock it with my photo, what are the chances of somebody who finds my lost phone to have a photo of me?

[benb1974]

Maybe patend mobile batteries, or thumbs yea thumbs. Only iPhone users can touch a mobile device with there thumbs.

[rlb]

And as mentioned earlier, I just noticed that iOS 5 now has a pulldown notification bar. Oh, gee, look what THAT looks like!....ANDROID! But there is no patent for it, from either Android or Apple, so if Apple is as bad a company as they are, they will file for the patent for the pulldown, and they make another lawsuit against Android because of it.

OK, please tell me all of you actually read that this patent was entered in 2010, before ICS had even previewed Facial Recognition. Please.

I'm not versed (at all) in patent law, but wouldn't google be covered by "prior art" in these circumstances, since they implemented both of these things before the patent was granted? Let say I filed for a shoe lace patent (assuming there never was one). I can't then go back and sue every shoe manufacturer that's made a shoe with laces...

Apple seems like a bully that's been challenged (like that skinny Australian kid that got body slammed) and now all they can do is taddle and point fingers as a last ditched effort.

[jkhonea]

There's a good chance the patent could be denied. That's why I don't understand all the overreactions about the application for a patent that started over a year ago. Seriously, some are acting like Google never patents anything, HTC doesn't, Motorola doesn't. People, stop the overreactions.

[czerdrill]

I'm not versed (at all) in patent law, but wouldn't google be covered by "prior art" in these circumstances, since they implemented both of these things before the patent was granted? Let say I filed for a shoe lace patent (assuming there never was one). I can't then go back and sue every shoe manufacturer that's made a shoe with laces...

Apple seems like a bully that's been challenged (like that skinny Australian kid that got body slammed) and now all they can do is taddle and point fingers as a last ditched effort.

If what Apple is trying to patent is a simple Face Unlock like ICS has, I see no way they'd be granted this patent. However, that doesn't seem to be what they're trying to do. If people just read the actual article instead of going crazy they'd see there's far more to this than just a face unlock:

1) There's a "presence" indicator to what they're proposing, where you don't have to turn on the phone to have it work. You pick up the phone, it senses you are there, scans your face, turns the phone on and unlocks itself all without any input from the user at all
2) From the article itself: "Apple mentions that the software would isolate unique facial features in addition to specific skin tones to recognize a face. The software would memorize the attributes to the face, but the user may potentially have to reset the scan after any form of facial plastic surgery or something as simple as a sunburn"
3) The patent was filed for in 2010. Meaning it was filed for...in 2010. Not sure why everyone is going bezerk over this. It's an old patent that was filed for in 2010, that is just now being disclosed.

So, this leads to only two possible conclusions. 1) It's EXACTLY like Face Unlock, in which case the patent WON'T be granted, or 2) It's NOTHING like Face Unlock, in which case if Apple tried to sue Google for it, the case would be ruled in Google's favor because they are not using the same implementation.

Of course, stating the facts makes me a troll and a douchebag to the fanboys who can't take a few seconds to actually read the article. But, as per the usual, it's far easier to just bash Apple without any facts, because you know, they're evil....

[skruid]

I don't understand why apple is this way, they wanted it to be all shared and open in the beginning when they stole ideas from Microsoft, I just don't get it if u know the whole story, apple did indeed steal alot of ideas from Microsoft in the becoming to jump start the company
They are just hypocrites

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