Apple (AAPL) has been sued by BASF in a patent infringement case over the facial authentication technology in many of its iPhones and iPads, Reuters reported Thursday, citing court documents.

BASF's trinamiX unit alleged that Apples uses secure, fraud-proof facial recognition technology it has spent the last decade refining in a number of its iPhone and iPad models, infringing on seven patents, the report said.

The lawsuit demands unspecified damages and a cessation of the use of the technology, the report said.

Apple and BASF did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' request for comment.

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