Noted patent troll Lodsys continues to haunt iOS app makers, and is now bragging that it’s convinced 150 of them to license a patent for Apple’s in-app purchasing mechanism. Lodsys blogged about its tally of licensing wins against these developers in a blog post on Monday, as first noted by MacRumors:
As of October 8, 2012, there are greater than 150 companies which obtained the rights to use the Lodsys Group patent portfolio, and more than 4 out of 5 of these companies have entered into licenses outside of the litigation process. These companies have realized significant savings by taking advantage of lower licensing rates.
The “significant savings” of paying for a license over continuing to pay the costs of an extensive legal battle is, as my colleague Jeff Roberts has put it, an offer many of these small companies can’t refuse. The licensing fee is rumored to be around 2.5 percent of revenues.
Apple stepped into the dispute last year, claiming that its own licensing of the technology from Lodsys protects its developers from having to do the same. Lodsys disagrees with that position and says that it will continue to move forward even as Apple has joined the fight.
In a separate blog post Monday, Lodsys wrote that it has ”every confidence that all claims will ultimately be confirmed through this lengthy process.”
