Apple's challenge denied in Lodsys in-app purchases lawsuit

Although Apple was looking to intervene in a lawsuit filed by Lodsys against various iOS developers, the iPhone maker has had its motion refused by an East Texas judge, meaning that numerous studios are now once again under potential threat. Patent licensing firm Lodsys originally sued a batch of mobile devs back in 2011, stating that they had implemented an in-app upgrades model in their games that made use of a Lodsys patent, and demanding a percentage of revenues. Apple jumped in to defend its developers, arguing that these studios were licensed to use this technology as part of Apple's own licensing. Two years later, Apple's legal challenge has been thrown out, and Lodsys can now continue to pursue these developers. U.S. District court judge Rodney Gilstrap, who refused Apple's challenge [PDF] last week, said that Apple's call for a dismissal was "far outside the scope of the instant action." He added that Lodsys can now looking to settle all of its individual cases, reports Ars Technica. Lodsys has sued dozens of iOS studios over the last couple of years, including Rovio, EA, Atari, Take-Two and Square Enix. A number of companies have already settled with Lodsys, not willing to take the matter to court -- Atari, for example.