Firstface Co., Ltd. has filed a second complaint against Samsung (2:24-cv-00610), this time in the Eastern District of Texas, asserting five patents broadly directed to a user input that switches a device from an inactive to active state and triggers biometric authentication to release the “lock state” of the device. Targeted is the provision of smartphones and tablets, with a focus on the incorporation of a “side button” and/or biometric authentication sensors. The patent asserted in the first complaint against Samsung, from this same family, ran into some trouble before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Inventor-controlled Firstface Co., Ltd., an entity formed and based in the Republic of Korea, has launched a US litigation campaign, suing Apple (5:18-cv-02245) and Samsung (5:18-cv-02243) in the Northern District of California. The complaint against Apple asserts three related patents, broadly concerning mobile devices with touch screen displays that can be turned on and off by, for example, authentication of a fingerprint or pressing an “activation button” separate from both the power button and the display itself, while only one of those three patents is asserted in the complaint filed against Samsung. The accused products are various smartphones and tablets made and sold by the defendants.