Android devs hit by Lodsys in-app patent legal threats

By Chris Davies
on 27 May, 2011

The patent holder targeting iOS App Store developers over their use of in-app purchasing systems has apparently turned its attention to Android developers now, with at least one coder claiming to have received a legal threat over their software. Lodsys grabbed headlines after issuing independent App Store developers with demands for patent licensing over some of the technologies used in in-app purchasing systems, despite Apple having already licensed those patents.

“We recently implemented in-app purchases for our Android application” Android developer markusn82 writes, “and several weeks later we received a letter from Lodsys, claiming that we infringed on their patents.” So far we’re yet to hear from any other developers similarly targeted.

Apple has announced its intent to support iOS developers, arguing that it licenses the Lodsys patents under an agreement that allows it to offer the resulting technologies to its business partners and customers. The expectation is that Google will take a similar stance.

[via MacRumors]

http://trueacu.com acupuncture

I was expecting this to happen. Hopefully all OS vendors will band together and squash this troll.
Fhb

How in Earth is it possible to get patents on such things as “in-app payment”? If it were a specific program or a code, a special routine or anything like it, but it’s totally insane to let patent these things. I’m happy to live in europe where patents are granted for actual things and you can’t patent an idea, only the product based on it. No screwed up patents here, like “a program that is capable of offering new recipes based on the smell of your mouth”. Write it, create the hardware for smell recognition and then you are entitled to your well deserved patent.
Us patents are slowly killing innovation.