Lodsys patent rampage continues as Activision and Capcom get sued

The patent-holding company Lodsys became notorious in 2011. It started sending patent threat letters to small developers asking for a bit more than a half-percent (.575) of their revenue. The company claimed it had a patent on in-app purchases.

Apple intervened in the case shortly thereafter. The company told the court that it had already licensed the Lodsys patents, so they shouldn't be used against developers working on its platform.

It hasn't helped. Lodsys has sued dozens of targets this year, showing it has no compunction about taking on any app maker whether it's a tiny game studio or a global corporation. Late last week, Lodsys fired off its newest round of lawsuits.

The new targets range from medium-sized to very big: Lodsys sued Activision (4,000+ employees), Capcom (almost 2,000 employees), and Bejeweled maker PopCap (around 400 employees, part of Electronic Arts).

It also sued TeamLava, a brand of Storm8 (120 employees), and Halfbrick Studios, the Australian game company that makes FruitNinja.

The complaints are all quite bare-bones and simply say the companies have infringed the 7,620,565 and 7,222,078 patents without any further details. Each complaint names one example app that is alleged to infringe the patents. The lawsuit against Activision, for instance, mentions Rapala Pro Bass Fishing, while the suit against Halfbrick names Age of Zombies.

The '078 and '565 patents are mentioned in many other Lodsys cases. They're part of a group of four patents that the company claims cover a vast array of everyday Internet technologies, from user feedback surveys to online subscription renewals to interactive online advertising.

The five lawsuits were all filed on May 9, following a batch of four filed on April 16. Those lawsuits made similar claims against Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Dow Jones (for its Wall Street Journal app), Evernote, and Glu Mobile. The lawsuits are all filed in the Eastern District of Texas, a popular venue for non-practicing patent holders such as Lodsys.

While Lodsys has generally stopped speaking publicly about its patent campaign, it did publish a blog post on April 16. The company reiterated its stance that Apple's license to its patents "does not extend to independent App Developers."