Apple Finally Able To Intervene In Lodsys Patent Troll Case [Report]

By

lodsys patent troll

Remember Lodsys? Many of you may recall how the patent troll sued App Store developers left and right last year. Apple tried to step in and release its blood-thirsty Cupertino hounds (code for “lawyers”) on Lodsys, claiming that its third-party developers were legally covered from any patent infringement claims.

Apple has finally been granted access to intervene and crush Lodsys once and for all, according to a new report.

FOSS Patents:

Today, finally, Apple’s motion was granted in part: “Apple is permitted to intervene in this suit, but such intervention is limited to the issues of patent exhaustion and licensing.”

Judge Rodney Gilstrap concluded that Apple was entitled to intervene, and in any event, a permissive intervention (one that the court can allow in its discretion) was also an option.

Infringement claims from Lodsys mainly centered around in-app purchases, but Apple claimed at the time that it had licensed in-app purchasing already. If Apple had the licenses, then its developers were safe.

Lodsys has been slient for many months, so it will be interesting to see how Apple’s intervention affects developers and the software patent industry as a whole.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.