A Houston woman is suing Apple for copyright infringement saying diverse skin-tone emojis were her idea.
Katrina Parrott said her daughter inspired her to create a more diverse, inclusive emoji.
Parrott hired a software developer and illustrator and launched an app in 2013.
Parrott then pitched her idea to Apple executives and shared a thumb drive with the emojis on it.
Not long after, Apple launched its own set of diverse emojis with five skin-tones.
“It took them five months after taking advantage of everything that I had to offer to tell me that they wanted to do it themselves. I was really disappointed and destroyed, ” said app creator, Katrina Parrott.
In court filings, Apple says it developed diverse skin-tone emojis on its own and did not copy her work.
Apple argued that Parrott does not have claim to the copyright of skin-tone emojis and that “copyright does not protect the idea of applying five different skin tones to emoji because ideas are not copyrightable.”
Apple has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and did not respond to requests for comment.
