Lodsys Now Suing EA, Atari, Rovio and More

An anonymous reader writes "Patent troll Lodsys has now amended its original complaint against iOS and Android developers to include some big name defendants of infringing upon its patent that allegedly relates to in-app purchasing. The new defendants include EA, Atari, Rovio and more."

Comments

I'm not an expert, but..

[headkase]

Wouldn't the fact that everyone is infringing on the patent have something to say about "being obvious to someone skilled in the field.."?

Re:I'm not an expert, but..

[mochan_s]

I would say : Wouldn't the fact that everyone is infringing on the patent without ever being aware or having heard of such a patent existing have something to say about "being obvious to someone skilled in the field.."?

I have to correct so many of my colleagues who say something to the tune of I'm going to work on this problem, produce a great result that's patentable and profit, to which I say you can patent anything. Suppose you are writing an algorithm to process data for some scenario X, you can patent something like the use of a data structure that enables the processing in scenario X - you can break it down into multiple claims that say data structures for holding parameters, for holding temporary data or for holding the kitchen sink. Of course, it's obvious that a data structure has to be used somewhere in the process in the algorithm for scenario X but the patent is worthless unless scenario X starts occurring so frequently that it's worthy to have spent the money acquiring the patent.

So, software patents aren't really patents of a solution to a problem, they are sort of a recognition that a problem is or will be important. Take Amazon's one click patent. The implementation is obvious but the value in the patent is that people want to buy things with 1 click.

Talk to Washington, not Austin

[davidwr]

These are federal suits.

The problem isn't Texas laws, it's the judges in the Federal Courthouse of the Eastern District of Texas and their interpretation of Federal laws.

The only thing "Texans" have to do with it are they make up the jury for the cases that do go to trial, and (by definition, unless they commute from another state) the Judges who serve there are currently Texans, even though many of them may not have lived in Texas prior to accepting their current appointment.

This courthouse needs to look at what the rest of the country is doing and have rules and practices similar enough to the rest of the country that it stops becomeing a magnet for such lawsuits.

Please go after those with deep pockets

[hsmith]

This will not end well for you (hopefully)

That's not a logical statement

[davidwr]

There are many things which are not "being obvious to someone skilled in the field" but which are easy and cheap to duplicate once the original invention has been made and published.

The "obvious" test pretty much requires you get a bunch of people who had approximately the same knowledge as the experts at the time of the invention itself but no knowledge of the invention then see what they come up with. If a significant number come up with something similar to the invention, then in lay terms, it's obvious. In legal terms, well, I am not a lawyer so don't ask me for a legal opinion.

Re:That's not a logical statement

[GGardner]

There are many things which are not "being obvious to someone skilled in the field" but which are easy and cheap to duplicate once the original invention has been made and published.

That may be true, but consider that Lodsys hasn't made anything, and I guarantee you the Rovio developers hadn't read the patent before they wrote their games.

When does the hurting stop?

[ilsaloving]

Is it just me or are these lawsuits just getting more and more ridiculous? What will it take before patent laws are thrown out the window and replaced with something sane?

I'm waiting to see companies go bankrupt and lives be destroyed over this idiocy. I expect people won't actually wake up until some distraught small business owner goes postal and slaughters a bunch of people.

Re:When does the hurting stop?

[Hatta]

What will it take before patent laws are thrown out the window and replaced with something sane?

We're at 40 years of the War on Drug Users and counting. There's literally nothing so egregious that the American people will not stand for it. Expect to see patent and copyright infringement become criminal acts in the next decade or two. Copyright infringement is halfway there already.

Re:When does the hurting stop?

[Jim Hall]

Is it just me or are these lawsuits just getting more and more ridiculous? What will it take before patent laws are thrown out the window and replaced with something sane? I'm waiting to see companies go bankrupt and lives be destroyed over this idiocy. I expect people won't actually wake up until some distraught small business owner goes postal and slaughters a bunch of people.

I've said this before on slashdot, and I'll say it again here: the problem with software patents will not go away unless people contact their lawmakers and demand change in the patent system. Especially if you live in Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Utah, or South Carolina. Because if so, your senator sits on a very important committee: U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. But no matter what state you are in, your senator or representative does listen to constituents who contact them, moreso when you call or visit. Letters do work, too, but admittedly it's less effective than meeting in person, or a phone call. (If you do write, make it handwritten - they pay attention to the effort.)

If we can get several of these senators to understand how "software" patents are stifling innovation of American technology companies, how US companies are spending so much time and money fighting "software" patents when those resources could go to R&D, then the subcommittee can take action. Contact your senator's office, and voice your concerns over "software" patents. Note that you don't actually have to speak with your senator - ask to speak with the staffer who usually deals with technology issues. An alternate contact might be their State Director.

Ultimately, changing how the USPTO considers "software" patents will require a change in law. The right place for this to start is with your congressperson. Remember: it's the job of your senator or US representative to listen to you and bring your concerns to the floor. All it takes is a phone call.

But I know it's oh-so-trendy for people to say "by congresscritters only listen to cash in their pocket" (these people are giving up) and I expect the inevitable followup.

Re:When does the hurting stop?

[gonz]

Actually companies like Lodsys are doing a great job of raising awareness about the weaknesses of the current system. It's great to hear that they're going after big name companies with lobbying power, rather than hurting small businesses.

Re:When does the hurting stop?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah... my small company is being hit by a troll based out of the Eastern District right now. It will likely drive us out of business like many others small (US based) businesses. Our situation is a bit interesting in that the patent being used to stop us from doing business applies only to a small portion of our products that just happen to compete head-on with a much larger company in a very specific industry.

The patent is extremely broad/obvious/talks-in-circles, but the cost to defend ourselves will pretty much wipe us out financially.

We suspect the troll going after us was hired by one of our larger competitors so that our products don't have continued success and cut into the larger company's business. The *really* frustrating part is that our competitor doesn't make the same products as us. Our customer uses our production/solution over our competitor's products because our products are better/cheaper/etc... however, when we're gone, they (the customer) will have no choice but to go with our competitors inferior products.

We're not happy about it. Our customer isn't happy about it. And soon, about a dozen US workers will be added to the jobless pool. Another win for the lawyers and the USPTO.

Re:maybe I misspoke

[Luckyo]

So in other words, you want judges that will kiss corporate asses more the politicians do nowadays? They already own 2/3 parts of the system (executive and legislature), and a rather large portion of third.

The entire point behind three-way power separation is to allow judges to be irremovable so long as they follow the law. This means that they can make decisions that go against both popular opinion and political power. I.e. "hey, we're gonna lynch that nigga', and if you don't let us, you're voted out!". Under the current system, "lynching" requires getting legislature make laws that allow lynching, and executive branch that won't veto it. It's a safety measure against gross abuse of power. Court is locked out of abuse of power by a system that allows appealing the decisions. If court in question would be interpreting laws in an improper way, appeals court would have stricken the decisions.

Current situation in Texas is because LEGISLATIVE branch has fucked up and allowed too broad implementation of the laws. Court merely interprets the existing law, WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE LAW - it can't make a new one. Please point your righteous anger in the right direction.

Look up stare decisis

[MacTechnic]

The problem with the patent law in the Federal Court of Eastern Texas cannot just solved with a democratic vote, because the law is not entirely democratic, but depends previous legal precedents in that jurisdiction. Even if there is legal reform, the reform does not overturn previous legal precedents retroactively. One must understand that federal civil litigation is quite different from criminal procedure. Intellectual property law depends as much on property law and common law for the judges interpretation. It does not really matter what judges say in NYC, San Francisco or Chicago, since they are in different federal jurisdictions. Only the Supreme Court of The USA can overturn such cases on valid appeals. Even if congress passes a new patent law, it only solves things going forward in time, not necessarily retroactively.
Lodsys though seems very well funded financially, and I would not be surprised if there was some indirect connection to Microsoft. It seems too common for coincidence that Microsoft's competitors fall prey to messy lawsuits, whether it be Apple, Linux distribution companies or IT companies. Not that I have hard evidence, but that has been MS's MO back in the 90's when Apple was staggering around without Steve Job's leadership.

Nonetheless, Apple does not want to stand by and watch their iOS market's being damaged, and Google and other mobile systems might be subject to litigation. However, I have not heard of any suits against Microsoft and their allied developers. Only time will tell.