Apple is sued for using the term 'Animoji'. The lawsuit was filed by Enrique Bonansea, a US citizen residing in Japan.
Enrique says he coined the term as a trademark in 2014, and registered it in 2015 with the US Patent and Trademark Office. He used the term for his messenger app which has been available in App Store since 2014.
The man claims that Apple was aware of his messenger Animoji and even offered him to sell the rights to the trademark to the company before the presentation of iPhone X. As a result Apple received its trademark mark through The Emoji Law Group LLC. Enrique claims that he should have released an update to the Animoji app only at the end of 2017, but he had to rush to get the term associated with more than just function iPhone X.
Prior to presentation, iPhone X Apple applied for the trademark 'Animoji' with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In her petition Apple she wrote that the company 'emonster Inc', which owns the rights to the term, did not even exist at the time the trademark was registered.
The term 'Animoji' Apple was used to describe the volumetric emoji on iPhone X, which can convey facial expressions and facial expressions.