Lodsys has confirmed that it has begun filing suits against app developers today, before the deadline the patent holder had previously given. In a blog post, the company said “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.”
According to Florian Mueller, the founder of the FOSS Patents blog, Combay, IconFactory, Illusion Labs, Michael G. Karr dba Shovelmate, QuickOffice, Richard Shinerman and Wulven Game Studios have all been sued.
Lodsys seems very confident of its legal standing, offering $1,000 to each developer it is suing if the group loses in court. “While it is true that Apple and Lodsys have an obvious dispute about the scope of Apple’s license to the Lodsys Patents we are willing to put our money where our mouth is and pay you something if we are wrong,” a company spokesperson wrote on the Lodsys blog.
While the group is offering $1,000 for iOS developers, it is not extending the offer to developers publishing apps for Android, Windows Phone 7 or other mobile operating systems. However, Lodsys reminded developers today that they are responsible for non-iOS apps that may infringe on Lodsys’ patents as well, even though “the press and the blogs seem focused on the specific instances of small developers, who are only on Apple iOS.”
This whole situation has been a roller coaster. Apple got involved on May 23. In a letter that leaked to the press, Bruce Sewell Senior, Vice President & General Counsel at Apple, wrote, “Apple requests that Lodsys immediately withdraw all notice letters sent to Apple App Makers and cease its false assertions that the App Makers’ use of licensed Apple products and services in any way constitute infringement of any Lodsys patent.”
Clearly, that isn’t happening.
Article Via Mac Rumors
those frackers...
i guess it's time for the big guns, we'll see now how far Apple is willing to go here. This is a potential PR nightmare for Apple. I have a bad feeling about this.
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LikePR Nightmare? This is a PR GOLDMINE for Apple. Lodsys are the ones who have an image problem. Apple is being seen as "coming to the rescue of the common man" by doing little to help the developers out (at this point anyway).
At the very worst, they can issue a statement saying that they did all they could to fight these ridiculous patent trolls, and try to push for patent reform, blah, blah, blah.
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LikeI've had to deal increasingly with people concerned about protecting "their idea." This is why I steer clear of them, because they're the kind of people that will patent something and pull this kind of douche-baggery.
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