Appeals board upholds 4 FaceTec biometric liveness detection patents

The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has ruled in a fight over intellectual property for biometric liveness detection between Jumio and FaceTec that all four challenged claims are patentable.

The Final Written Decisions uphold the patentability of U.S. Patents No. 10,776,471, 11,157,606, 11,693,938 and 11,874,910, which FaceTec describes in its announcement as foundational to its 3D liveness technology. The rulings were in response to separate inter partes reviews Jumio initiated for each patent.

Jumio switched its biometric liveness detection provider in 2015 from FaceTec to iProov, which FaceTec alleges was using its IP.

“This total victory positions us to proceed with the current patent infringement lawsuits against Jumio and iProov,” says Trevor Chaplick, chief legal officer and EVP of Corporate Development for FaceTec. “The PTAB decision firmly establishes the validity of our core 3D Liveness IP. FaceTec is well positioned to seek both injunctive relief against and substantial monetary damages from infringers. These patents are central to FaceTec’s industry-leading 3D Face Verification software suite, which is trusted by enterprises, governments, and financial institutions globally to verify that a remote user is a real person, the right person, and physically present in front of the camera at the time of verification.”

FaceTec CEO Kevin Allan Tussy says the rulings fortify protections for the core innovations that make his company’s liveness detection “the gold standard for secure identity verification,” and that FaceTec “will never stop fighting” to defend its IP against “knockoff artists, copyists, serial infringers, and those who assist them.”

The reviews were filed by Perkins Coie LLP, prior to its disqualification from representing Jumio at FaceTec’s request last year.

The ruling prevents Jumio from having FaceTec’s patents invalidated and the case dismissed.

FaceTec is represented by Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, and holds 48 patents in total.

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  FaceTec  |  Jumio  |  lawsuits  |  patents