Apple is still planning on helping its iOS developers take on Lodsys in an ongoing legal battle, reports "FOSS Patents" (http://macte.ch/OIHnC).

"Apple still requests a court hearing on its motion," writes Florian Mueller for the site. "Things may still take some more time, but there will be no more written pleadings unless the court asks the parties to address particular questions in more detail. At this stage it's possible that the court decides very quickly, and I continue to be reasonably optimistic that Apple's motion will be granted."

In May Apple's legal department came to the defense of iOS app developers with a letter to Lodsys regarding its patent dispute with app developers. In the letter to Lodsys, Bruce Sewell, Apple senior vice president and general counsel said, Apple is undisputedly licensed to these patents and the App Makers are protected by that license.

"Thus the technology that is targeted in your notice letters is technology that Apple is expressly licensed under the Lodsys patents to offer to Apple’s App Makers,” he added. “These licensed products and services enable Apple’s App Makers to communicate with end users through the use of Apple’s own licensed hardware, software, APIs, memory, servers, and interfaces, including Apple’s App Store. Because Apple is licensed under Lodsys’ patents to offer such technology to its App Makers, the App Makers are entitled to use this technology free from any infringement claims by Lodsys.”

Lodsys is suing some iOS developers for using in-app purchasing systems that it claims violates patents it owns. The patent holding firm has been targeting small iOS developers with notices of patent infringement for providing in-app purchase and/or Apple App Store purchase links within their apps.

-- Dennis Sellers