In short, YES you can bypass the Apple activation lock. As I have mentioned at the beginning, an activation lock is designed to protect the information of the device user. It will be automatically turned on when Find My iPhone is enabled on the device so that when you lost your device, you can control it remotely and erase the data with the Apple ID and password on hand.
If this is your device and you have forgotten the passcode, Apple can find it for you. If this is a device you bought from others and you can contact the seller, ask him to give you the passcode, or ask him to turn off the activation lock from his side.
If you cannot find the seller anymore, here is the guide to bypass the Apple activation lock. Next time you are buying an Apple device from someone else, make sure the device is erased and no longer linked to the previous owner's account.