Lodsys is ramping up the lawsuits and this time it is targeting Atari, EA, Rovio and Square Enix.
It is unclear if Lodsys had a high hand or just bluffing. Certainly Lodsys is climbing up the ladder of Patent Troll.
Dear Lodsys, Payback is a Bitch.
FOSS Patents blog reports that ESET, the maker of NOD-32 Antivirus filed a declaratory judgment action against Lodsys with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
Lodsys recently gained notoriety for filing lawsuits against seven iOS Developers for in-app-purchases and in-app-upgrades related patents. Apple then filed motion to intervene on Lodsys Patent Lawsuit. A Michigan company named ForeSee Results Inc. is seeking to invalidate Lodsys patent portfolio.
Apple runs interference on Lodsys Patent Lawsuit.
As expected Apple files motion to intervene on Lodsys Patent Lawsuit against iOS Developers. Previously Apple Legal sent a letter Lodsys in response to the lawsuit threats against iOS Developers. Lodsys then filed lawsuit against seven iOS Developers earlier than planned because of the response by Apple.
Apple is not the only company juming into the Lodsys lawsuit mess. A Michigan company named ForeSee Results Inc. is seeking to invalidate Lodsys patent portfolio.
Apple will not be the last headache Lodsys have to deal with, assuming that Google would defend Android Developers from similar lawsuit threat.
This is what iOS 4 think about Lodsys:
Lodsys responds to Apple by suing iOS Developers earlier than planned.
Lodsys moves to sue iOS Developers earlier than planned as a respond to “Apple’s threat“.
From Lodsys’ blog:
Q: Why did Lodsys sue some App Developers on May 31, 2011?
Lodsys chose to move its litigation timing to an earlier date than originally planned, in response to Apple’s threat, in order to preserve its legal options.
Lodsys also sent Legal threats to Android Developers regarding in-app-purchasing patent.
Lodsys revealed that Apple, Google and Microsoft are already licensee of Lodsys’ patent portfolio. Apple, Google and Microsoft could seek to invalidate Lodsys patent.
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For some reason, this is what the iPhone 4 thinks of Lodsys:
Samsung Lawyers Must Be Crazy.
Samsung fires back at Apple asking for prototypes of Apple’s upcoming devices such as the next iPhone and iPad. Samsung Legal Team wants the court to believe that such move is fair since Apple has been granted access to prototypes of announced products from Samsung. Based on the reports, only Apple Legal Team would be given access to those prototypes, not any other Apple employees. Apple initially sued Samsung for infringing on Trade dress of iOS devices; iPhone and iPad in particular. Samsung then countersued Apple on same patent infringements.
The Samsung Legal Team must be crazy to ask for unannounced products from Apple. Relying on patterns on past product releases and rumors, Samsung Legal assumed that they would be granted access to the non-existent products. The jokes are already flooding in such as this gem:
Apple: Samsung is kirfing our products.
Samsung: Can we see your future products (so we can kirf them)?
The best case scenario for Samsung is that they’d be getting the complete and functional prototypes of iPhone 4 in White and iPad 2.
Lodsys also threatens Android Developers over patent. Google, it’s your move.
After gaining a lot of attention for sending lawsuit threat to numbers of iOS Developers, Lodsys is also going after Android Developers over in-app purchasing patent. Lodsys in its Q&A blog explained why its going after individual developers but not Apple, Google and Microsoft; that’s because the three companies have already licensed the four patents in question.
On May 23rd, 2011 Apple Legal sent a letter to Lodsys stating that Apple is licensed to all four patents in the Lodsys portfolio. Any iOS Applications published in iTunes App Store are essentially covered by the license.
Android Developers are hoping Google to do the same with what Apple did for its Developers.
EFF Wants Apple To Defend Its Developers.
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is weighing in on Lodsys’s patent threat against iOS Developers. EFF wants Apple to defend its Developers.
Lodsys claims that Apple is licensed to use Lodsys’ patents, even though there’s no detailed explanation of the licensing. At this moment Apple is keeping the silence. Lodsys’ threat against iOS Developers will ultimately hurt iOS App ecosystem if Apple chose to do nothing. Developers can opt to forgo in-app purchasing and upgrades; effectively taking one revenue-generating feature for Developers and Apple.
Apple, it’s your turn!
