Rovio, EA Urge Court To Let Apple Join Lodsys Patent Suit

Electronic Arts and Angry Birds developer Rovio have submitted a federal court filing insisting that Apple should be allowed to intervene in a patent-infringement lawsuit against developers of iPhone applications. Texas-based Lodsys, LLC sued a number of iOS developers including EA, Rovio, Mega Poker Online developer Combay, Inc, and more back in June, on the grounds that these companies allegedly violated the company's patent for an in-app upgrade model. Lodsys is demanding a percentage of the revenues made from this patent violation. Apple previously insisted that it should be able to intervene on the legal proceedings, saying that its own license with Lodys covers the company's partners and customers, including the accused developers. In support of Apple, EA and Rovio said in its court filing, “The participation of Apple as a party in this lawsuit is critical to the development of the very evidence needed to establish what may prove to be a complete defense to the infringement claims in this action.” According to Bloomberg, Lodsys has previously objected to Apple's request, arguing that EA and Rovio both have the resources to handle their own defense, and that there is no evidence that the suit influences Apple's relationship with developers. Other developers affected by the lawsuit include Atari, Square Enix, Take-Two, Twitteriffic developer Iconfactory, Inc, Labyrinth developer Illusion Labs, as well as Michael G. Karr, Quickoffice, Inc., Richard Shinderman, and Wulven Games.