Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Google moves to protect app devs against Lodsys

By
android_virus
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Here we go again: Google has reportedly decided to assist app developers faced with a patent lawsuit from Lodsys. Google, facing another affront to Android, asked the U.S. Patent Office to examine the patents involved in the suit.

In May, Lodsys threatened Android and iOS developers with lawsuits over patent infringement. According to PCMag, Lodsys seems to be nothing more than a patent licensing company, and has used some of the patents in their portfolio to escalate the already-massive smartphone patent war. One of them, patent 7,222,078 covers “Methods and systems for gathering information from units of a commodity across a network,” which is legalese for the systems that control in-app purchases.

Recommended Videos

More specifically, the patent apparently covers the specific action of in-app upgrade buttons to move from a free version to a paid version of an app. And despite the fact that Apple and Google have licenses for the Lodsys tech, Lodsys says they don’t apply to devs.

Google’s move is now to ask the Patent Office to rule patent 7,222,078 invalid. The company argues that Lodsys never should have even been given a patent for a simple upgrade button.

On the FOSS Patents blog, Florian Mueller wrote that it might not be enough of an effort:

While I agree with Google’s senior vice president and general counsel Kent Walker that those patents should never have been issued, I don’t consider those reexamination requests — unless they will be accompanied by more forceful and useful measures very soon — a serious commitment to supporting Android app developers against trolls. If this is all that Google does, it’s too little, too late, and calling it “half-hearted” would be an overstatement.

Mueller does argue that the request may have positive benefits down the road, even if it proves to be nothing more than a wake-up call for the Patent Office to assess tech patent applications a little more thoroughly, as this situation — an entire industry held hostage by a patent-holding company over an in-app button — is pretty ridiculous. What it really highlights is the new reality in the tech world: never-ending patent wars.

Protection of IP is incredibly important for companies to profit off their innovations. However, the current trend of using patents as weapons, especially by non-tech companies, means manufacturers will be spending more costly time in court and more time finding workarounds for basic tech they’re legally barred from using, which most likely will result in higher prices and fewer choices for consumers.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Derek Mead
Derek Mead
Former Digital Trends Contributor
How to reverse image search on Android or iPhone

A reverse image search is a handy way to figure out the origin of an image, locate similar images, or fact check an image. There are a multitude of ways to perform a reverse image search on your mobile device, whether you're using an Android phone or an iPhone.

For example, here's how to do a reverse image search via Google lens on Android:

Read more
The 10 best apps for a second phone number in 2024
OnePlus 5 soft gold with the phone app open.

Having a second phone number can be handy for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you want to separate your business and personal calls, or you want a junk second number that you can use to sign up for services so you can avoid giving out your personal number to so many places. That's particularly importance with the frequency of annoying spam calls and messages that can pile up when your phone number is made public. You might also want a second number to use in situations where you want to be able to contact people occasionally but you don't necessarily want them to be able to reach your personal device directly, like when internet dating or using an app like AirBnB. Whatever the reason, there are many situations where having a number that you can give out which you can make use of but isn't directly tied to your personal life like your main phone number is can be important for safety and security.

While you could get a second SIM card (or even an eSIM), an easier option for casual use is to use an app that lets you set up a second phone line. Whether you're after an Android app or an iPhone app, you'll find plenty of options to get a second phone line, including some which are free to use. We've hunted down some of the best options for apps that will give you a second phone number for whatever reason you need it, and we're sharing them with you below.
Vyke

Read more
Is Temu legit? Everything you need to know about the shopping app
An image of the Temu app listing on the iOS app store on an iPhone 12.

Have you been looking for an Amazon shopping alternative? Outside of getting in your car and heading to your local brick-and-mortar establishment (scary, we know), one smartphone and tablet-friendly shopping tool you could take for a spin is Temu. 

Launched in September 2022, Temu prides itself on its cost-friendly approach to buying stuff online. But is it a worthy stand-in for Amazon, or should you stick to the Almighty A for your household must-haves? Let’s find out!
What is Temu?

Read more