Patent holding company Lodsys claims it’s gaining momentum in its battle with independent developers. The company posted two new blog posts on Monday evening—after almost a year and a half of silence—claiming it has both gained the favor of the US Patent and Trademark Office and made a number of new patent licensing deals with smaller companies. But some of the indie developers targeted by Lodsys have begun chest-thumping in response, declaring that Lodsys “needs to be stopped.” In its first post, Lodsys claims more than 150 companies have paid to obtain the rights to its patent portfolio, with “more than 4 out of 5” choosing to do so outside of litigation. “These companies have realized significant savings by taking advantage of lower licensing rates,” Lodsys wrote. Indeed, it’s no surprise that a number of companies have chosen the licensing route. When Lodsys began going after mobile app makers in 2011, first starting with iPhone developers and then spreading to Android and other platforms, it threatened expensive patent infringement lawsuits if the developers didn’t cough up some cash to license the patents. Some developers—apparently “more than 150”—ended up being scared into going the licensing route due to their relative size, as many mobile app makers are small shops with limited resources. Apple has also been green-lighted to intervene in Lodsys’ lawsuit against some iOS developers. (The lawsuit targets developers who made use of Apple’s API for in-app purchasing, but Lodsys says the developers owe licensing fees regardless of the fact that Apple itself owns a license for that functionality.) But Lodsys’ second post this week touches on the in-app purchase patent by bragging that it has the USPTO on its side. “As a part of the Inter-Parties Reexamination requested by Google, the USPTO recently issued an Office Action confirming Claim 24 of US Patent 7,222,078. This claim is particularly relevant regarding in-app purchases and free-to-paid application upgrades,” the company wrote. “In addition, we have every confidence that all claims will ultimately be confirmed through this lengthy process. In-app purchase features and free-to-paid upgrades will be a part of the litigation process that is now swiftly moving forward.” The patent firm goes on to point out that Apple’s ability to extend its own licensing rights to third parties “remains unresolved and clearly contested.”
