Lodsys Pulls The Rug Out From Under Accused Developers With Accelerated Lawsuits

Well, it seems all this Lodsys drama is kicking into high gear sooner than expected. Initially allowing affected developers 21 days to sort out their various responses to Lodsys' legal claims, the patent licensor has reneged on that promise and filed suit against seven independent app makers: Combay, Iconfactory, Illusion Labs, Machael G. Karr, Quickoffice, Richard Shinderman, and Wulven Games. According to Lodsys (via Mac Rumors), the decision to go forward now was largely prompted by Apple's response on behalf of its iOS developers, which the patent-holder felt was threatening and inappropriate:

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... [Apple's] letter was very surprising as Apple and Lodsys were in confidential discussions and there was clearly disagreement on the interpretation of the license terms of Apple's agreement. Before, during and after these interactions, Lodsys has carefully considered this issue and consulted several legal experts to consider Apple's claims. We stand firm and restate our previous position that it is the 3rd party Developers that are responsible for the infringement of Lodsys' patents and they are responsible for securing the rights for their applications. Developers relying on Apple's letter do so to their own detriment and are strongly urged to review Apple's own developer agreements to determine the true extent of Apple's responsibilities to them.

There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason behind why Lodsys is attacking these few specific developers, but the move is clearly designed to light a fire under Cupertino at a most inconvenient time, as Apple is now almost certainly forced to address the issue at next week's WWDC event. Curiously, Lodsys is "guaranteeing" each affected developer a $1000 payment if the firm is indeed ruled in the wrong, and -- for most developers -- that might be enough financial inducement to privately settle while Apple responds and inevitably challenges Lodsys in a court of law. We'll be sure to keep an eye on the story as it unfolds, so check back often, because things look like they're going to move pretty fast.

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