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Intellectual Property

Aug. 3, 2026

Apple wins dismissal of NameDrop patent infringement suit

A federal judge dismissed Ginko LLC's patent infringement suit against Apple, ruling that the patent underlying the challenge to the iPhone maker's NameDrop feature merely automates the abstract idea of exchanging contact information and is therefore not patent eligible.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria invalidated a Michigan app developer's patent covering digital contact sharing, ruling on the pleadings that the asserted claims merely automate the abstract idea of exchanging contact information.

The judge granted Apple's motion for judgment on the pleadings in Ginko LLC's infringement lawsuit, ruling on the papers alone that the patent -- No. 11,025,573 -- claimed an abstract idea rather than a patent-eligible invention.

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