Some of our readers will remember that we have been reporting on the dispute between Lodsys and developers of apps for Apple’s iOS platform, as a reminder a number of developers received letters from Lodsys on the 13th of May, claiming that they were infringing on Lodsys patents by using ‘in app purchases, in their iOS apps.
We now have our first official news from Apple on the matter, and they have written a letter to Lodsys, claiming that Apple holds a license for each of the Lodsys patents, the letter was obtained by Macworld.
The letter clearly states that as Apple holds licenses with Lodsys, then Apple’s developers are also covered by the licenses as the software used to deliver the in app purchases belongs to Apple.
First, Apple is licensed to all four of the patents in the Lodsys portfolio. As Lodsys itself advertises on its website, “Apple is licensed for its nameplate products and services.” See http://www.lodsys.com/blog.html (emphasis in original). Under its license, Apple is entitled to offer these licensed products and services to its customers and business partners, who, in turn, have the right to use them.
Apple has made it pretty clear in the letter to Lodsys what its stance on these patent infringement claims is, and it looks like Apple is prepared to take this matter further in order to protect its developers, which I am sure will be welcomed by the developers who have received the legal letters from Lodsys.
You can see the full letter that Apple’s Bruce Sewell sent to Lodsys over at Macworld.
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