Apple Sued for Copying Businesswoman’s Diverse Emojis Idea
- Creator of iDiversicons claims Apple took idea, spurned deal
- Developer wants to block Apple’s five-skin tone emoji pallet
Photographer: Tengku Bahar/AFP via Getty Images
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Apple Inc. was sued for allegedly copying an innovation credited with helping bring racial diversity to the world of emojis, those ubiquitous characters used as shortcuts to express emotions in digital communications.
Katrina Parrott, an African-American businesswoman, debuted her copyrighted method for letting users choose from five skin tones to color a line of emojis -- known as iDiversicons -- on Apple’s App Store in 2013 and on iTunes in 2014.