There are all kinds of patent trolls making outrageous claims about the technology they "own," but there's no question that Lodsys is one of the most infamous. Last year, Lodsys explained how it was generously offering to let the iOS and Android app developers of the world continue to do business—if they pay a patent tax of 0.575 percent of their revenue.
Pretty small tax, sure. But then, Lodsys' claims are pretty wild and raised hackles in the developer community. The company, which has not responded to press inquiries about its patents but does make occasional public statements through its blog, claims to own patents that cover in-app purchasing. Even though Apple already has a license to its own patents and has even intervened in court to stop Lodsys, the patent-licensing company still claims a right to go after small iOS developers. "The scope of their current licenses does NOT enable them to provide 'pixie dust' to bless another (3rd party) business applications," Lodsys wrote in May 2011.
This week, it has become clear that Lodsys' desires for patent profits go way beyond the world of mobile apps. In fact, they go beyond the tech sector altogether. Yesterday, the company filed two lawsuits against eleven companies in all, claiming that it invented common features like "live interactive chat," use of a "feedback soliciting FAQ," as well as "user feedback forms." Those two lawsuits pile on to two other lawsuits filed on November 20 against nine defendants total.
Significantly, the targets include retailers large and small—the kinds of companies that don't traditionally get roped into patent troll suits. The targets include companies like Nordstrom, Burberry, Dover Saddlery, Musician's Friend, and Godiva Chocolatier. The list also includes a few companies that are probably used to patent litigation by now, like Charter Communications and Sandisk.
Lodsys has already produced much more consternation than your average patent-holding company, and this new batch of targets is only going to add to the controversy around the mysterious entity.
All of the companies are accused of violating US Patent No. 7,620,565, called "computer-based product design module." It was issued to Daniel Abelow, the same inventor on the other Lodsys patents, in November 2009. Lodsys has published a short bio on Abelow, indicating his super-smartness using a photograph where he is touching the side of his head where the best inventing happens.
All the new Lodsys lawsuits are filed in East Texas, and all of them have the Seattle law firm of Kelley, Goldfarb, Gill, Huck, and Roth listed as attorneys of record, as well as William "Bo" Davis of Tyler, Texas as local counsel.
East Texas is a small world. Lodsys counsel William Davis is the son of US District Judge Leonard Davis, who is the chief judge of the Eastern District of Texas. (Davis can't practice before his father, so these cases will go to another judge.)
The full list of recent "interactive chat" lawsuits is:
- Lodsys Group LLC v. Bed Bath & Beyond, Brooks Sports, John Wiley & Sons, and J&P Cycles, filed November 20. [PDF]
- Lodsys Group LLC v. B&H Foto & Electronics, Charter Communications, Corbis, Lamps Plus, and Nordstrom, filed November 20. [PDF]
- Lodsys Group LLC v. MakeMyTrip.com, Meijer, Musician's Friend, Nuance Communications, Sandisk, and Sirius XM Radio, filed December 4. [PDF]
- Lodsys Group LLC v. Burberry Ltd., Dover Saddlery, Freescale Semiconductor, Godiva Chocolatier, and Hanna Andersson, filed December 4. [PDF]
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