Judge Looses Apple’s Legal Hounds on Lodsys

Bad news for Lodsys, the patent holding company that has been accusing iOS developers of infringing its in-app purchasing patent: A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has granted Apple permission to intervene in the lawsuits that the patent holding company has brought against seven iOS developers.

Though Apple’s intervention is limited to the issues of patent exhaustion and licensing, this is a clear boon for the independent developers Lodsys has been harassing. The company’s legal team is a formidable one, and its chances of beating Lodsys quickly and mercilessly into submission are likely pretty high, particularly if Apple’s license to the patents at issue here is determined to extend to iOS developers as it claims.

Yes, Lodsys has really stepped in it now. Now youse can’t leave …