Previously on Patent Trolling America:

Indie developers get hit by threats from company that makes a living suing people over wide-ranging patents.

Lodsys goes wah wah wah on a blog, suggesting they are the victims here. I disagree (and, judging by the fact my article from yesterday rocketed to second place in Revert to Saved’s all-time most-read list, I’m not the only one).

Today, the guy who first revealed he’d been hit by Lodsys, James Thomson, said another wave of attacks is happening:

Sounds like there’s a second wave of FedEx parcels today – the Iconfactory just got one.

This one’s going to run and run unless someone fights and wins, or Apple smashes Lodsys in its stupid face with a lawyer-shaped punch.

Two points people have been making about Lodsys are worth countering.

1. They only want 0.575% of US income from IAP, so why all the whining?

The figure might not seem much, but what’s to stop Lodsys amending this later? Or for some other party to say it has a patent that IAP infringes and demand 1% or 2%? And then for another to do the same? Before you know it, half your income is paying patent trolls and Apple’s platform gradually becomes deserted by the developers who made it a success.

Also, importantly, this figure is apparently not included in the documents being sent out by Lodsys. It’s all very well to say “but we’re not asking for much” after you’ve already scared the shit out of a bunch of developers. (Most can now, of course, find the information online, but they shouldn’t have to, and the many developers who received the letter on Friday probably spent the weekend wondering how much Lodsys would damage their business.)

It’s also still unclear whether paying Lodsys would breach the terms developers sign with Apple, meaning IAP in itself would be possible until some kind of global resolution is made, such as Apple amending its terms accordingly. (And that would surely open the floodgates to infinite trolling idiots on money rafts.)

2. Lodsys says Apple is licensed, so it’s not going to fight, and it’s only fair the devs get permission to use the technology too.

First, Apple provides no alternative to IAP, so devs cannot avoid it unless they ditch any app with this capability. Secondly, I don’t for a second imagine Apple legal thought problems like this would ever occur, and that it’d roll out a system that would eventually incur extra costs for iOS developers. Development platforms are supposed to be utterly bulletproof-safe to develop for. You shouldn’t have to think “I wonder whether some scumbag will sue me for using IAP at some point”—this should all be covered; developers should be protected by the company that owns the platform or service.

Should Apple capitulate here, expect—again—a ton more threats of this kind to appear, resulting in developer income being chipped away piece by piece. Given Apple’s rather powerful legal team, I’ll be astonished if it sits back and does nothing whatsoever.

World-leading PC manufacturer Lenovo has done it again, announcing the ultrathin ThinkPad X1, a hugely innovative laptop that looks like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

OK, so it might look a smidge like the MacBook Air, but here’s why Lenovo’s laptop will grind Apple’s into the dirt:

• Nipple: Everyone likes a nipple, and this laptop still has one wedged into its keyboard. Apple seems to think that multitouch trackpads are the way forward, but the nipple will eventually win the day.
• Stickers: The MacBook Air is extremely boring when you open it up—the entire thing’s just grey. Yawn. By contrast, the ThinkPad X1 has lots of exciting stickers on it; even better, these tell you what companies have supplied parts for your computer, enabling you to show off to your friend.
• Heft: The ThinkPad X1 is about 50 per cent heavier than the MacBook Air, meaning it’s far more satisfying to carry. You really know you’ve spent money on something when it’s in a bag and tugging at your shoulder. (Even better, 1.7kg is only the starting weight—you can actually make it heavier. I’m hoping for a special edition with a brick glued to the lid.)
• Battery: Lenovo reckons the battery should last up to five hours, compared to seven in the MacBook Air—a big benefit, because everyone works too much these days. The X1 makes sure you won’t, especially if your forget your charger.
• Windows: It’s got Windows inside! Everyone loves Windows.
• Poor screen contrast: Great reproduction of photos drops your productivity. By making on-screen graphics less exciting, you will do more work. Unless your battery runs out first, obv.
• Black: Black is the new black, and the black shell doesn’t at all make the X1 look like it’s the result of a torrid affair between a MacBook Air and a clunky 1990s Windows laptop.
• Specs: The X1 has more bullet-points than the MacBook Air, referring to extra ports and ‘stuff’ that is a surefire way to draw in typical users. They love lists of numbers.
• Storage: The SSD will be optional, rather than standard and enforced across the line. Futuristic technology is scary.

Run for the hills, Apple! I think I’m not alone in saying that Lenovo’s got you beaten here, and that within four days at most of the X1 being on sale, you’ll be down to third in terms of market-cap, because Lenovo will blitz past even Exxon, leaving you in its wake.

Ryan Sarver (head of Twitter’s Platform Group), in March:

Developers ask us if they should build client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience. The answer is no. We need to ensure users can interact with Twitter the same way everywhere.

Mac Twitter client Kiwi’s developer, today:

I’ve stopped working on Kiwi. […] It essential that the platform you’re working on is eager for your app, eager to help you get to market, and eager for you to reap your well earned rewards.

Perhaps Twitter has a great long-term goal that involves the strategic decision of “crap on the guys that made your platform popular”, but it’s a pity so many clients and devs are taking a hit. And from what I see from Twitter itself—across Mac, iPad and iPhone, the company itself is being quite hypocritical when it comes to Sarver’s comment:

We need to ensure users can interact with Twitter the same way everywhere.

Maybe Twitter should make sure its own apps have some semblance of uniformity, then.

Worrying times for iOS indie devs:

James Thomson (PCalc, DragThing):

Just got hit by very worrying threat of patent infringement lawsuit for using in-app purchase in PCalc Lite. Legal docs arrived via fedex.

To be clear, I haven’t been sued yet – I’ve been told that I am infringing their patent, they want me to license it, and I have 21 days.

Patrick McCarron:

Anyone else get a patent threat via FedEx for in-app purchase use in their iOS app? So far @jamesthomson and I got hit.

I think it’s safe to say that these won’t be isolated incidents and some fuckwit patent troll is now going after indie devs, hoping they’ll cough up money rather than risk their business. Of course, going after the enabler of in-app purchases—Apple—is a bit riskier for a troll; it’s much better to threaten guys who can’t afford to fight back.

This reminds me of when muppet ex-games dev Tim Langdell smacked down any iOS developer who had the audacity to use ‘edge’ in a game’s title. (Full story: ChaosEdge.) In that case, EA decided to use its powers for good, ‘protected’ indie devs and fought in part on their behalf (EA itself was also threatened, due to its Mirror’s Edge game, but nonetheless assisted Mobigame and others), eventually winning the day by getting Langell’s marks removed.

For IAP, another champion is needed, who will immediately state they will fight the case on everyone’s behalf. Whether that’s Apple (which would make most sense) or some other huge company with a vested interest in IAPs doesn’t matter: what matters is someone fights this, or it’s game over for a massive chunk of iOS development and its thriving indie community.

Update: The nature of this threat is, according to sources, “wide ranging”, and there’s speculation it could target more than just Apple, but any platform with content downloaded in the same manner as IAP.

Update 2: Cult of Mac claims Lodsys, LLC is the company threatening indie devs, by way of a 2003 patent. MacRumors adds that further developers are revealing that they’ve been threatened.

Update 3: Wired reports that Lodsys are also suing the Pocket God developers.

The Brooks Review:

Android releases are done alphabetically, which is dumb. Why is it dumb? Industry standard is numbers because numbers make sense.

I’m not sure Android’s way is dumb per se, but it sure is yet another example of engineer thinking (this is logical to me, therefore let’s do it) versus thinking for the typical consumer (where numbers do indeed rule, and version 5.4.3 is clearly more recent than 2.5.1).