The Supreme Court dismisses the appeal against the smartphone camera patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, Google, and LG

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal in a lawsuit over patents related to motion sensors and cameras, resulting in a legal victory for Apple, Google, and LG. Gesture Technologies, the company that filed the lawsuit, claimed in 2021 that patent infringement occurred in 2020, before the patents had yet to expire. However, Apple, Google, and LG filed for invalidation of the patents, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the entire patent invalid.

US Supreme Court won't hear patent appeal against Apple, Google, LG | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-supreme-court-wont-hear-patent-appeal-against-apple-google-lg-2025-11-17/

Apple wins camera patent dispute with Gesture Technologies
https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/11/17/apple-wins-camera-patent-dispute-as-supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-appeal

Apple scores legal win in expired patent case - 9to5Mac
https://9to5mac.com/2025/11/17/apple-scores-legal-win-as-supreme-court-declines-to-hear-challenge-over-expired-patent/

Gesture Technologies was founded in 2013 by Timothy Pryor, an engineer who holds multiple patents related to motion sensors and cameras. The patents in question, which were intended to support device operation using cameras, expired in 2020. However, Gesture Technologies filed separate lawsuits against Apple, Google, and LG in 2021, alleging that patent infringement occurred before the expiration date.

The three companies, Apple, Google, and LG, filed a petition with the Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to invalidate the claims against the patents in question, and the USPTO ruled that 31 of the 33 patents in question were invalid.

Furthermore, in January 2025, the Federal Circuit declared all 33 patents invalid.

Gesture Technologies appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that 'expired patents no longer implicate the public's rights and are therefore reviewable only in federal courts, not the Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Review Board.' Meanwhile, Apple and the Patent and Trademark Office each filed a brief arguing that 'expired patents still implicate the public's rights,' urging the Supreme Court to uphold the decision.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court rejected Gesture Technologies' appeal, ruling in favor of Apple, Google, and LG.

Gesture Technologies claims that the validity of the patent was never questioned before the expiration date. However, Apple Insider reports that it has heard that 'there were no claims of patent infringement while the patent was still valid.'