Free for a Fee

Lodsys got attention back in 2011 when it went after small app developers, demanding about one half-percent (.0575 percent, to be exact) of their revenue if they use in-app purchases. By May of that year, Apple intervened in the legal action, arguing that since it had already licensed the Lodsys patents, developers should be protected. Apple’s intervention has hardly been a quick fix, though. Its argument has been taking a mighty long time to get consideration in the East Texas court where it’s fighting. And there’s nothing to stop Lodsys from filing patent lawsuits against new targets—which is exactly what it’s been doing. And Lodsys also believes its patents entitle it to royalties from websites that use certain types of “interactive chat, user feedback form, and survey features,” enabling it to sue practically any company with a website.

In just one lawsuit filed last November, Lodsys claimed that charter.com (a cable company), lampsplus.com (a retailer), corbisimages.com (image licensing), and shop.nordstrom.com all infringed its two patents, numbered 7,620,565 and 7,222,078.