Sep 04, 2026 12:26:00

BASF , the world’s largest integrated chemical company, has filed a lawsuit alleging that Apple’s Face ID facial recognition system infringes on its patents.

BASF sues Apple in US, says iPhones infringe face authentication patents | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/basf-sues-apple-us-allegedly-infringing-its-face-authentication-patents-2026-09-03/

Apple’s Face ID technology target of latest lawsuit from BASF
https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/09/03/apples-face-id-technology-target-of-latest-lawsuit-from-german-company-basf

On September 3, 2026, local time, BASF filed a lawsuit against Apple in a federal district court in Midland, Texas. According to BASF, the Face ID facial recognition system used in iPhones and iPads infringes on the company’s patented facial recognition technology.

Face ID is a facial recognition system first introduced in the iPhone X , released in November 2017. It was introduced along with the removal of the home button located at the bottom of the display, and it is a biometric authentication system that replaces the fingerprint authentication system, Touch ID.

Deciphering Apple’s official document on the security of Apple’s facial recognition ‘Face ID’ – GIGAZINE

TrinamiX, a subsidiary established by BASF in 2014, develops advanced 3D sensing-based biometric authentication technologies. According to TrinamiX, conventional facial recognition systems have a security flaw: they are vulnerable to impersonation. TrinamiX has spent the past 10 years developing facial recognition technology that can address this flaw.

‘Impersonation’ of facial recognition systems refers to methods of bypassing facial recognition functions using photographs or 3D-printed masks. In fact, shortly after Face ID was introduced, a video showing how to bypass Face ID using a 3D-printed mask was released and became a hot topic.

A video showing how a 3D-printed mask can bypass iPhone X’s Face ID facial recognition has been released – GIGAZINE

According to BASF, when Apple announced Face ID in 2017, their patented facial recognition technology that prevents impersonation was not being infringed. However, it appears that the Face ID technology used in the iPhone 15, iPhone 16, iPhone 17, iPad Pro, and other devices infringes on those patents.

The complaint filed by BASF in court states that ‘Apple was aware, or should have been aware, that this update to iPhones and iPads to incorporate Face ID, which uses material and skin detection technology, was likely to infringe seven of trinamiX’s patents. This patent infringement has caused trinamiX substantial and irreparable damages.’

In the lawsuit, BASF is seeking damages and an injunction against future patent infringement, but the amount of damages is not specified.

AppleInsider, an Apple-related media outlet, reported that ‘One of BASF’s patented technologies is for an ‘under-display facial recognition system for OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays.’ This was announced in 2022 and is already featured in Android smartphones. The description in this patent matches the features of the under-display embedded Face ID that is rumored to be first introduced in the iPhone 18 Pro. This lawsuit could create complex issues for Apple regarding the release of an iPhone with under-display embedded Face ID.’