Violation of IDnow Patent Confirmed

The European market for KYC has seen a highly dynamic growth over the last years since the German Financial Authority (BaFin) has paved the way for a new online identification method based on video-technology in 2014. Since then, many countries in Europe have adapted the regulation such as Austria, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Hungary et al. IDnow is one of the leaders in this exciting new market and holds several patents to protect its technology. Today, one of its European patents proved to be highly relevant for the video identification market in Europe.

The District Court of Düsseldorf confirmed that the patent of IDnow had indeed been violated: The Court sees it as proven that the German part of the European patent EP 2 948 891 B1 concerning the video identification procedure of IDnow, which is based on a January 2013 priority, had been violated by its competitor WebID Solutions. WebID has the right of appeal against the decision by the District Court of Düsseldorf. However, following the court decision, IDnow is entitled to stop the use of WebID Solutions’ video identification procedure which was the subject matter of the patent infringement procedure. The court ruling is already enforceable in Germany against provision of security.

Armin Bauer, co-founder and CTO of IDnow, expressed his satisfaction with the judicial confirmation of patent infringement and explained: “We are very pleased that the court’s decision provides clarity in the market. It shows that our focus on innovative technologies as well as security and user-friendliness was right from the beginning.” Further inventions by IDnow such as innovative photo-based procedures and eSigning solutions have also been registered for patent approval.

IDnow had started with the development of its innovative solution as early as 2012 and then registered it for patent. In the summer of 2016, it became evident that the company WebID Solutions had violated the patent of IDnow with its video identification process, which had then become the subject matter of the patent infringement proceedings. Although the competitor had been aware of the patent since last year at the latest, WebID Solutions continued to implement its procedure and made no effort to find an amicable settlement.

“Although WebID Solutions is responsible for the patent infringement, we want to avoid burdening its existing customers with the court ruling as far as possible. We are prepared to hold individual talks to find a suitable solution“, says Sebastian Baerhold, co-founder and Managing Director of IDnow.

IDnow Video-Ident is the convenient online alternative to a visit to the bank branch or post office. Many banks, FinTechs, leasing companies, and insurers offer their customers this solution, which provides anit-money laundering law compliant video identification. Customers only need a computer with internet access, webcam, smartphone, or tablet and a valid identity document. An identification specialist guides them through the entire process. IDnow Video-Ident is characterized by an excellent user experience that has already provided a significant conversion rate increase for many well-known companies.