Lodsys, the notorious patent troll that sued many iOS developers for using Apple’s In-app purchase API is free to continue its trolling after a Texas judge tossed out Apple’s motion to intervene in Lodsys’ patent suits against developers.
Lodsys had started suing developers more than two years ago, and in its appeal, Apple argued that since the company had already licensed Lodsys’ patents, third-party developers didn’t need to license them again. However, with this decision, it seems developers have no choice but to settle, as going into trial directly with Lodsys will prove to be much more expensive, especially for small companies.
From Ars Technica [1] :
Now, after two years of litigation, it’s back to square one. The East Texas judge overseeing Lodsys’ systematic patent attack on app developers has refused to even consider Apple’s motion. Instead, he allowed the patent-holding company to settle all its casesâ€"and then dismissed Apple’s motion as moot. By doing so, US District Judge Rodney Gilstrapâ€"who has inherited the patent-happy East Texas court that once belonged to patent-troll favorite T. John Wardâ€"has enabled Lodsys to threaten developers for months, and perhaps even years, to come.
Judge Gilstrap’s argument was that the court’s decision cannot take into acconut “six million unnamed developers.†Instead, he suggested Apple to directly sue Lodsys rather than intervene in cases against third-party developers.
Lodsys has totally sued over 192 developers who use Apple’s In-app purchase APIs in the past three years, out of which many have already settled. Lodsys continues to sue developers even now, with the most recent target being Martha Stewart , who, with ample resources in her hand, counter-sued the company. Last month, Lodsys has mysteriously drop its lawsuit against an app developer after both parties agreed to donate to a mutually agreeable charity.
Apple will have another opportunity to intervene in a Lodsys suit in the same Texas court, though it’s highly unlikely that Judge Gilstrap would deliver a different judgement the next time.
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