Last year, patent holder Lodsys filed lawsuits against iOS developers including James Thomson, Patrick McCarron, IconFactory, Combay, Rovio and more. Apple stepped in and filed a motion to intervene on June 9, 2011. The motion was finally granted this week, says a report in FOSS Patents.

Lodsys asserts that these developers and others infringe on U.S. Patent No. 7,222,078 which describes "methods and systems for gathering information from units of a commodity across a network." Apple argues that developers are protected from lawsuits because Apple already pays Lodsys a licensing fee which covers third-party developers in the iOS App Store. Lodsys vehemently disagrees and claims each developer must negotiate an agreement on an individual basis.