Takeaway: Apple’s attempt to diversify its emoji’s finds the tech mogul in court.
Just weeks ago in the Western District of Texas, Cub Club Investment (“CCI”) filed suit against Apple for copyright and trade dress infringement in addition to other claims. The complaint alleges Apple, without permission or license, copied the five skin tones for its emojis which are “digital images or icons used to express an idea or emotion to the sender.” CCI is the owner of more than 20 copyrights in the diverse emoji, has three pending patent applications, and launched the app “iDiversicons.”
CCI claims throughout 2013-2015 that it pitched its ethnically diverse emoji idea to the Unicode Consortium, the trade organization in charge of emoji standards, which Apple is also a member of. CCI further claims it even pitched its idea to Apple to discuss a partnership, which was unsuccessful. Instead, Apple continued to pursue developing its own diverse emojis and designs. CCI is seeking an accounting of profits and damages as a result of Apple’s alleged actions.
Photo Credit: www.idiversicons.com
