The legal maneuverings between Apple and Lodsys are heating up. After Cupertino came to the defense of its developers in a patent threat from Lodsys regarding in-app purchases, Lodsys turned around and filed suit against seven iOS developers -- and now Apple is striking back.
MacRumors is reporting that the ongoing patent saga between Apple’s iOS developers and Lodsys, LLC has taken a new turn. You may recall that Lodsys came seemingly out of nowhere in recent weeks, sending threatening letters to iOS developers who use Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism. Lodsys claims they hold the patent on this technology and, while Apple has officially licensed it from them, third-party developers are not covered under that deal.
Apple soon cried foul, making public a letter from its lawyer that disputes Lodsys’ claims. Lodsys then moved forward, filing lawsuits against seven iOS developers -- a move that FOSS Patents is reporting has come under challenge by Apple after the company filed a motion to intervene against Lodsys.
“Apple Inc. (‘Apple’) hereby respectfully moves to intervene as a defendant and counterclaim plaintiff in the above-captioned action brought by plaintiff Lodsys, LLC (‘Lodsys’) against seven software application developers (collectively, ‘Developers’), for allegedly infringing U.S. Patent Nos. 7,222,078 (the ‘078 patent’) and 7,620,565 (the ‘565 patent and, collectively, the ‘patents in suit’),” the motion reads. “Apple seeks to intervene because it is expressly licensed to provide to the Developers products and services that embody the patents in suit, free from claims of infringement of those patents.”
With this move, Apple is backing up its previous claim that its third-party developers are covered by their agreement with Lodsys -- a bold move to protect their lucrative iOS App Store business, but certainly a welcome sign of relief for developers, many of whom are “individuals or small entities with far fewer resources than Apple,” according to FOSS Patents.
There are sure to be plenty more twists and turns in the Lodsys patent saga in the days ahead, especially if the patent holder decides to step up their attack by going after Apple directly. Stay tuned.
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