Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchasing upgrades [UPDATED]

Summary: Two iSO developers - James Thomson and Patrick McCarron have reported receiving threatening legal letters from an as yet unnamed third party.

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes for Hardware 2.0 | May 13, 2011 -- 07:00 GMT (00:00 PDT)

Follow @the_pc_doc

This is interesting ... and worrying for iOS developers using in-app purchase in their apps.

Two iSO developers - James Thomson and Patrick McCarron have reported receiving threatening legal letters from an as yet unnamed third party.

Thomson used in-app purchasing in his PCalc Lite app (PCalc is one of those apps that I use all the time)while McCarron used it in a game called Shanghai Mahjong.

Neither are willing to discuss the matter much as they want comment from Apple's legal folks, but to me this smells like a patent troll.

Other iOS developers using in-app purchasing are understandably worried, such as Gedeon Maheux:

Seems there's a patent troll about who doesn't have the courage, confidence (or money perhaps) to go after Apple so is instead going after indie developers.

Apple needs to do the right thing here and indemnify developers why use the iOS SDK (Software Development Kit) to create apps from patent issues relating to the SDK.

[UPDATE: It is now being suggested that Lodsys LLC is the company behing the legal threats.]

[UPDATE 2: Dev Matt Braun who makes the MASH iOS game for kids has also been hit with legal threats.]

[UPDATE 3: Here's what intellectual property activist Florian Mueller had to say in an email:

"While the patent system works quite well for large players with deep pockets, little 'indie' app developers don't have the resources to defend themselves against such threats. In most cases they don't even operate under the legal umbrella of a limited liability company, so in a worst-case scenario they could be financially ruined for life if they lose a patent infringement lawsuit."

Serious stuff!]

[UPDATE 4: OK, some more information. I've receiveed information that suggests that it is indeed the Lodsys that is behind these legal threats to developers. The patent in question here is 7,222,078 (which is listed on Lodsys) 'Methods and systems for gathering information from units of a commodity across a network.' And yes, it is as vague as the title makes it sound.]

Any readers who happen to be devs having a bad Friday 13th thanks to being hit by legal threats? Let me know either in the comments of via the contact form here on ZDNet.

Topics: Operating Systems, Apple, Legal, Mobile OS, Software Development

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

35 comments

Log in or register to join the discussion

RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases

Stay classy, patent trolls

pueblonative
13 May, 2011 07:07

Reply Vote
- RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
  
  @pueblonative simple, they are doing what Apple does. sue the little guy, like HTC.
  
  tatiGmail
  13 May, 2011 10:08
  
  Reply Vote
  - RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
    
    @tatiGmail If HTC is in the wrong and using Apple tech then they deserve to be sued. If it is proved that HTC was not then that is egg on Apple's face. However that is beside the point of this article...
    
    These guys who do not even have the cajones to say who they are and go after the smaller developers are nothing more than cowardly patent trolls.
    
    athynz
    13 May, 2011 10:29
    
    Reply Vote
Opportunity

This would be a golden opportunity for Apple to make some points with the developer community. If Apple's legal team were to assist in the defense against the trolls it would send two messages.
1. Apple cares about the developers (imagine that).
2. The trolls cannot pick on the little guy unless they want to deal with the 800 pound gorilla too.

lars626
13 May, 2011 07:45

Reply Vote
- Agreed!
 
 @lars626
 And it's high time that a judge gets a chance to review this so maybe even invalidate it if they feel it should be, end this before it begins with the help of Apple.
 
 Will Pharaoh
 13 May, 2011 07:52
 
 Reply Vote
 - RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @Will Pharaoh when Apple sues, it's their rights. When somebody else sues, they are trolls. The irony.
 
 tatiGmail
 13 May, 2011 10:10
 
 Reply Vote
 - RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @tatiGmail I only see your outrage when Apple sues, not every other tech company out there since they all do it.
 
 non-biased
 17 May, 2011 13:44
 
 Reply Vote
 - RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 tatiGmail
 
 These trolls suing the app developers is akin to a troll with a cellular patent suing you, your mother, and every other person, for having cell phones that use the alleged patent violation instead of trying to sue Verizon.
 
 If there is actually a patent violation here, they should be suing Apple, not trying to extort settlements out of small app writers. I personally believe that if there were a valid patent violation, they would go after Apple. Since they are going after small time app developers, it leads me to believe they are full of crap and are trying to scare some easy money out of the little guys.
 
 Go ahead and hate Apple if you want to, I am not that fond of them either, but try to be rational in your posts.
 
 michaellashinsky@...
 20 May, 2011 07:23
 
 Reply Vote
- RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @lars626 I totally agree. That puts Apple at the level of Microsoft when it comes to protecting its developer ecosystem unlike Google.
 
 Ram U
 13 May, 2011 09:10
 
 Reply Vote
RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases

I don't know why everyone is calling them trolls with no information. People with VALID patents have a right to enforce them. How about we see what this is all about before calling names :)

timspublic1@...
13 May, 2011 08:55

Reply Vote
- RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @timspublic1@... No software patent is legal. It is all mathematics. Just the patent office is incompetent at mathematics.
 
 jessepollard
 13 May, 2011 09:08
 
 Reply Vote
 - RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @jessepollard Funny how you think "no software patent is legal" yet if Apple were the one "trolling" would you still feel that way?....this is silly to call them a patent troll with zero information on their patent. If they have a patent, it is their right to defend/enforce it. If you feel all software patent are not valid then you need to take that up with law makers, not the people who follow the rules and play by the rules. If I recall, Apply has been taking legal action against several companies for IP infringement on everything from hardware, software and even gestures (I think one of the latest is Amazon's "APP" store). Please try to elevate the course of the discussion by contributing helpful commentsNot just drinking the kool aid. And no, I don't have anything against Apple, but then I don't have anything against any company for that matter.
 
 johnfarhat@...
 13 May, 2011 09:47
 
 Reply Vote
- Read the patent!
 
 @timspublic1@...
 Lawyers might twist this into what is being threatened but reading the garbage patent itself does not indicate that the patent troll would prevail.....
 
 Tholian_53
 13 May, 2011 09:13
 
 Reply Vote
- RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @timspublic1@... Software patents are not VALID in the EU. I'd love to see the patent holder try uphold their US only patent over here. Software/Idea patents are ridiculous and should be scrapped, it would of course mean the end of an industry for many software patent lawyers.
 
 Jayton
 13 May, 2011 09:41
 
 Reply Vote
- RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @timspublic1@... They are cowards in my book because they do not have the cajones to say who they are. Until they reveal who they are and can prove they own the patents that were allegedly violated then they are patent trolls.
 
 athynz
 13 May, 2011 10:32
 
 Reply Vote
- RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @timspublic1@...
 VALID is the right word.
 Try reading this patent: customer's use of an application or customer's desire for a new feature within that application being reported back to the developer electronically is such a radical new feature that it is protected by this patent.
 Apparently in December 2003 this was a signifcant invention that noone was doing and the concept was worthy of patent protection. Really?
 Anyone heard of web support prior to December 2003? According to this patent, if the customer tells you of a bug fix or enhancement and you use this info to influence future product design - you owe them a royalty or you are infringing their patent.
 
 Mythlandia
 13 May, 2011 14:49
 
 Reply Vote
 - Total BS
 
 @Mythlandia OMG...my company's windows software did all this in the late 90s - they've got to start requiring patent clerks have at least 100 IQs - it's ludicrous there was ever a piece of paper issued on this crap
 
 archangel9999
 16 May, 2011 06:37
 
 Reply Vote
- RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @timspublic1@... a patent troll is an entity that only buys patents, no other business. check. a patent that is from a troll that has so vague of wording as this one does, that a judge will laugh them out of court the moment it is read.. check... yes, patent troll. every employee at the patent office that grants patents as ludicrous as this one reads, should be called in front of 500 citizens and spanked with a willow stick with 10 lashes each for just being stupid should be the order of the day.
 
 honkj
 13 May, 2011 17:13
 
 Reply Vote
- RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases
 
 @timspublic1@...
 
 The fact that they do not identify themselves or the patent(s) in question automatically makes them trolls.
 
 Michael Kelly
 15 May, 2011 17:30
 
 Reply Vote
RE: Developers hit by legal threats over iOS in-app purchases

I think they are trolls if they are non-specific as to what patents or other IP they are claiming. If they are claiming specific IT, then companies can assess the validity of that IT, and whether there is invalidating prior art, or not. Or, that maybe even Apple could provide a simple work-around that does not then infringe.

I get the feeling that when "trolls" do not say what specifically they are claiming as IP; they are usually skating on thin ice, and want to intimidate and cash-in with weak IP; rather than subject the IP to the scrutiny of the technical community and the courts.

If you have "real quality IP" then by all means assert it. Explicitly. And be ready to withstand searches for prior art and all the other things that can ultimately make a patent invalid.

ideality
13 May, 2011 09:17

Reply Vote