On the website, http://www.toucharcade.com, I read an article that talked about a company called Lodsys LLC suing various mobile game developers over infringement of several patents. The article stated that the lawsuit is based on infringement on interactive chat and other features of the company. I found it shocking that the lawsuit was mounted against dozens of mobile game developers, but I realize the unfortunate circumstances that can happen to companies like Lodsys LLC.
You might recall back in mid-2011 when a company called Lodsys LLC filed legal suit against a number of game and app development companies claiming that the use of in-app purchases and/or paid upgrade systems in those companies’ apps infringed on patents owned by Lodsys. After sending out threatening letters to a number of these smaller – sometimes just one or two person – development teams, Lodsys went all in and added some of gaming’s biggest players to their suit, including Atari, Electronic Arts, Rovio, Square Enix and Take-Two Interactive. To finish reading Lodsys Sues a New Batch of Mobile Game Developers Including Gameloft, Backflip Studios, and Disney click here.
The use of patent trolling seems to be harming companies because they are being forced to license with the companies in order to use the patents. I feel this article did a great job explaining the reason behind the lawsuit and I understand how patent trolling can be damaging to companies.
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