Reincubate Sues Apple Over Continuity Camera, Alleges Patent Infringement and Antitrust Violations

Reincubate, the developer behind the popular Camo app, has filed a lawsuit against Apple in federal court, alleging that the tech giant infringed on its patents and violated antitrust laws to protect its mobile operating system monopoly. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, claims Apple actively courted Reincubate to develop its technology only to copy it as the native "Continuity Camera" feature and subsequently degrade the third-party app's performance.



The dispute centers on Camo, an app released in 2020 that allows users to turn their smartphones into high-quality webcams for computers. Unlike Apple's eventual first-party solution, Camo offered cross-platform interoperability, allowing iPhones to work with Windows PCs and Android devices to work with Macs. The lawsuit argues that this interoperability posed a threat to the "stickiness" of Apple's ecosystem, prompting the company to neutralize the competition.


According to the filing, Apple's Worldwide Developer Relations team encouraged Reincubate to invest heavily in the app, engaging in regular communication and soliciting technical details and roadmaps. The plaintiff alleges that Apple used this privileged access to build Continuity Camera, which was integrated directly into iOS 16. Once the native feature launched, Reincubate claims Apple restricted access to essential technologies, specifically refusing to provide third-party developers access to the same low-latency Wi-Fi technologies that Continuity Camera relies on for smooth performance.

The complaint describes this behavior as an aggressive form of "Sherlocking," where Apple copies a developer's core functionality to render their product obsolete. However, Reincubate argues this case goes further because Apple allegedly induced them to prove the market viability of the technology before appropriating it. The lawsuit asserts that Apple's conduct was designed to foreclose competition and force users to remain within the Apple ecosystem by degrading the performance of cross-platform alternatives.

In addition to the antitrust claims, Reincubate alleges willful infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 11,924,258 and 12,335,323. The filing asserts that Apple's senior leadership, including Craig Federighi, was allegedly made aware of Reincubate's intellectual property but continued to market Continuity Camera and related features in macOS and iPadOS.

This legal challenge adds to a growing list of regulatory hurdles for the company. Apple recently lost a landmark lawsuit in the UK regarding App Store fees and is currently navigating complex antitrust rulings in the United States regarding developer commissions.


In a statement to Reuters, Apple denied the allegations, stating, "Apple competes fairly while respecting the intellectual property rights of others, and these camera features were developed internally by Apple engineers." Reincubate is seeking a jury trial, injunctive relief to stop the alleged infringement, and treble damages for the antitrust violations.