Lodsys Continues Trolling, Takes Aim at Big Names in Gaming

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Lodsys has gained plenty of fame (even infamy) in recent months for its continued pursuit of a number iOS and Android developers for their alleged infringement on patents that cover in-app purchases and upgrade links. Dissatisfied with its results so far, it now takes aim at some of the big names in gaming… but has Lodsys now bitten off more than it can chew?

The patent holder has amended the list of defendants in its lawsuit to target a total of 11 developers and companies, including some big names like Atari, Electronic Arts, Rovio, Square Enix, and Take-Two Interactive. It also dropped Vietnamese developer Wulven Games from the suit, who was previously included in the initial 7 developers sued on May 31.

Rovio is accused of infringing at least one patent for its hugely successful Angry Birds games for both iOS and Android devices, as noted by FOSS Patents:

Defendant Rovio has infringed and continues to infringe, directly, indirectly, literally, under the doctrine of equivalents, contributorily, and/or through the inducement of other, one or more claims of the ‘565 patent. Rovio makes, sells, uses, imports, and/or offers to sell infringing applications, including but not limited to Angry Birds for iPhone and Angry Birds for Android, which infringe at least claim 27 of ‘565 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271.

These amendments make it clear that Lodsys isn’t just about targeting small indie developers, but also big name companies with deeper pockets. However, this isn’t the only lawsuit in which it targets major companies.

Lodsys also has three other lawsuits on the go which target the likes of Adidas, Best Buy, Brother, HP and The New York Times Company.

Apple has previously stepped in to defend its iOS developers, claiming it is “indisputably licensed” to the intellectual property in question and that its third-party developers are also covered by the same license. However, Google remains quiet, leaving many Android developers under threat and a number of other vulnerable to Lodsys’ persistent trolling.

[via MacRumors]

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