MPH Technologies Oy v. Apple, Inc.

MPH Technologies Oy, a Finnish entity, has filed its first lawsuit, accusing Apple (5:18-cv-05935) of infringing eight network security patents through the provision of a wide range of connected devices. More specifically, the Northern District of California complaint targets Apple’s provision of the end-to-end encryption used by iMessage and Facetime as incorporated into various products, including iPhones, iPads, iPods, Apple Watches, and Macs. MPH Technologies also targets Apple products’ VPN features (as offered by various “iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Mac computers”) due to the alleged inclusion of Internet Key Exchange (IKEv2) Mobility and Multihoming Protocol (MOBIKE) technology, respectively (and allegedly) used to authenticate VPN connections and allow VPN users “to move from one address to another without re-establishing all security associations with the VPN gateway”. Apple is further accused of infringement through its Always-On VPN technology, as provided for various “iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads, running iOS 8, iOS 9, iOS 10, and iOS 11”. This campaign is the second for MPH Technologies; in February 2010, the NPE asserted a ninth patent, not here at issue, in a single lawsuit against Check Point Software, NETGEAR, and ZyXEL.