The creator of a smartphone video app sued Apple on Tuesday (27) in federal court in New Jersey, alleging that the iPhone maker stole the technology and holds an illegal monopoly over the smartphone software market in the United States.
Reincubate Ltd claimed that Apple copied patented features from the Camo app, which works across multiple operating systems, and incorporated them into iOS to “redirect user demand towards Apple’s own platform supply”.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple’s conduct violates U.S. antitrust laws by locking users into the dominant mobile operating system and preventing them from switching to competitors. The US government has brought similar antitrust allegations against Apple in a 2024 lawsuit that is still ongoing.
Apple representatives did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
“Rather than compete with us, Apple created a series of obstacles to level the playing field, infringed on our intellectual property and did so in order to prevent competition from rival platforms,” said Aidan Fitzpatrick, chief executive of Reincubate, in a statement.
Camo, launched by Reincubate, a London-based company, in 2020, allows the use of smartphones as webcams for video calls on computers. According to the lawsuit, Apple “actively induced and encouraged” Reincubate to develop and market Camo for iOS before the tech giant copied it and integrated the features into iOS as “Continuity Camera” in 2022.
Reincubate called Apple’s conduct an example of “Sherlocking,” which it said is “shorthand for Apple’s pattern of appropriating and terminating innovative software developed outside its ecosystem.”
“In most of these cases, Apple did not actively induce the developer to test and create software,” the lawsuit points out. “Here, Apple actively cultivated a relationship of trust with Reincubate, induced the company to share technical details, beta versions and market data, and leveraged this privileged access to guide its own development,” he continued.
In addition to the antitrust allegations, the lawsuit accused Apple of infringing on Reincubate’s patents. The company requested monetary damages of an unspecified amount and court orders to stop Apple’s alleged unlawful conduct.
