A few months ago the Lodsys company from the USA started sending to certain iOS application developers Notifications by which he informs them that they have infringed certain patents in the applications published in the App Store. We are talking about the in-app purchases system implemented by the Apple company, which has licensed it, but Lodsys claims that the license does not apply to application developers. Apple and Lodsys failed to reach an agreement on the issue and it seems that some developers are already starting to withdraw their applications from the US App Store for fear of lawsuits filed by Lodsys.
The patent troll problem gets worse by the day, and it's turning into a think-global-sue-local business. Today, an Indian company named Kootol distributed a press release announcing that it sent "a notice" to a long list of companies large and small, claiming that they sell products and operate services on which a patent application pending in different jurisdictions around the globe reads .
One of the developers of iOS applications has publicly announced that it has withdrawn all its applications from both the App Store and the Android Market for fear of a possible lawsuit with Lodsys. The problem is that this withdrawal will not help him much because Lodsys can sue him for using the technologies in the past. It is enough for one developer to cause panic because the rest will follow his example and in the following days it is possible to see other developers taking the same decision.
If Lodsys wasn't enough, learn that the Kotool company from India claims that large American companies use technologies for which the company has already applied for the registration of patents. We are talking about companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft or Yahoo that will have to be judged now also on Indian territory. The company claims that it has applied for the registration of an invention patent that describes: a method and a system for communication, advertising, internet search, sharing and offering dynamic content in a feed.
Basically, Lodsys opened the way for other companies willing to make a name for themselves and force big companies to pay them money for technologies that may not be used as the accusers claim. In the end, all this commotion will affect users who will no longer be able to buy certain applications from the American App Store.
