It’s been another dark month for America’s troubled patent system. The latest news relates to Lodsys, the shell company which claims to own “in-app purchasing,” and which has been putting the screws to app makers for a share of their revenue.
Lodsys has already sued or threatened hundreds (and likely thousands) of app makers. The situation is serious enough that Apple(s appl), warning that 6 million iOS developers are at risk, asked a Texas judge in 2011 to let it participate in a trial where Lodsys is suing the app makers.
Apple says it can join in because it already bought a license for the same patents from Intellectual Ventures, the mother-troll that gave the patents to Lodsys. In Apple’s view, its license should shield the small app developers.
Unfortunately, Apple has just been booted out of court. As Ars Technica explains, the federal judge overseeing the Texas…
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