Texas-based company Fintiv has sued Apple, accusing the iPhone maker of stealing technology to create the lucrative Apple Pay mobile wallet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a complaint released on Thursday, Fintiv stated that key features of Apple Pay are based on technology developed by CorFire, a company Fintiv acquired in 2014. This technology is now used in hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and MacBooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apple declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Fintiv, Apple held several meetings with CorFire in 2011\u20132012 and signed nondisclosure agreements to license mobile wallet technology amid growing demand for contactless payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawsuit claims that Apple poached CorFire employees and used the technology and trade secrets to launch Apple Pay in the US and dozens of other countries starting in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fintiv also accused Apple of running an informal racketeering scheme, using Apple Pay to collect commissions from credit card issuers such as Bank of America, Capital One, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, as well as payment networks American Express, Mastercard, and Visa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a case of corporate theft and racketeering on a monumental scale,\u201d the complaint states, alleging Apple earned billions without paying Fintiv \u201ca single penny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fintiv\u2019s attorney Mark Kasowitz called Apple\u2019s actions \u201cone of the most egregious examples of corporate misconduct\u201d he\u2019s seen in his 45 years of legal practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Atlanta seeks damages and penalties for violations of federal trade secret laws and Georgia\u2019s racketeering laws, including RICO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apple is the sole defendant. CorFire was based in Alpharetta, Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On August 4, a federal judge in Austin dismissed another Fintiv lawsuit against Apple over patent infringement \u2014 just days after some other claims were rejected. Court documents indicate Fintiv agreed to the dismissal but plans to appeal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5442,"template":"","class_list":["post-5445","nwes","type-nwes","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n