Apple files motion to intervene in Lodsys suit

Apple has filed a motion to intervene for developers being sued by Lodsys. The motion was filed in the Eastern District of Texas and notes that the developers are:

"are individuals or small entities with far fewer resources than Apple and [...] lack the technical information, ability, and incentive to adequately protect Apple's rights under its license agreement."

Precedence suggests Apple will be allowed to intervene in this case. The company will likely argue that Lodsys' claims are covered by an existing licensing agreement Apple has with the firm. If Apple is successful, Lodsys would not be allowed to collect twice on the same licensed patent.

It is not known whether Apple will pay for the legal costs of these developers, but it is good news that Apple is stepping in legally in this case.

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Source: http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/06/apple-enters-fray-ag…

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Apple has filed a motion to intervene for developers being sued by Lodsys. The motion was filed in the Eastern District of Texas and...

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JHam

Do not pass GO, do not collect $200.

June 10 2011 at 10:49 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

latengoriquisima

Not 'precendence' but 'precedent'.

June 10 2011 at 6:11 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Agilis

Fantastic decision on Apple's part. Apple and their developers are going to get theirs.

June 10 2011 at 4:29 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply

Michael Ward

It's good that Apple are protecting their developers, but they really did have to make this move to protect their app ecosystem.

June 10 2011 at 1:44 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Vertigo

This is exactly what I expected from Apple. Those who were criticizing them for not acting immediately don't understand how complicated these legal issues are. They needed to do the research to make sure their case was solid before they went to battle. Now it's on.

Also, I think we've gotten so used to instant reactions on Twitter and places that we expect even companies like Apple to make a tweet saying "We are so pissed at Lodsys. We are taking these guys down!" a mere two minutes after the news breaks. A decade or two ago, a measured response within a few weeks would have been considered fast and on the ball.

June 10 2011 at 1:42 PM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down Reply

Charles Gibbs

soo...Apple is suing a patent troll..how ironic.

June 10 2011 at 12:17 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to Charles Gibbs's comment

blurfus

Errr, no. Apple is not suing the patent troll here.
Apple is jumping to the defence of those developers (and small development studios) being sued by said troll.
Apple is arguing that those developers should be covered by their licensing agreement with the troll and, since they lack the resources to defend themselves in court, they are willing to help fend off this suit.

June 10 2011 at 12:41 PM Report abuse Permalink +3 rate up rate down Reply

VanillaSpice

It's only ironic if you misconstruct Apple as a patent troll.

Apple patents systems and defends those patents it has implemented in product.

In other words, the antonym of a patent troll.

Obviously you think that anyone who applies for a patent is a troll, which is an incredibly ignorant and immature assumption to make, an assumption you would have not made if you had possessed the decency to perform the most basic of research before shooting your mouth off.

There is enough knee-jerk Apple-hate on the internet without you adding to it.

June 16 2011 at 10:40 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply