Apple has written to Lodsys CEO, Mark Small, in response to the notices of patent infringement sent by Lodsys to several iOS developers.
In the letter, Apple senior vice president and general legal counsel, Bruce Sewell refutes Lodsys’ claim that developers are infringing upon Lodsys intellectual property and says that they are, in fact, covered by Apple’s licence.
‘There is no basis for Lodsys’ infringement allegations against Apple’s App Makers. Apple intends to share this letter and the information set out herein with its App Makers and is fully prepared to defend Apple’s license rights,’ wrote Sewell.
Sewell goes on to outline the reasons why Apple believes that its developers are not infringing on Lodsys patents.
Under its licence, Apple is entitled to offer these licensed products and services to its customers and business partners who, in turn, have the right to use them.
Sewell outlines how the alleged infringements use Apple APIs, Apple servers, and Apple’s App Store and therefore are covered by Apple’s licence and asserts that app developers are ‘entitled to use this technology free from any infringement claims by Lodsys.’
The letter concludes:
Apple requests that Lodsys immediately withdraw all notice letters sent to Apple App Makers and cease its false assertions that the App Makers’ use of licensed Apple products and services in any way constitute infringement of any Lodsys patent.
