Back in May 2011, patent holding firm Lodsys began threatening lawsuits against a number of small iOS developers, alleging infringement of a Lodsys-held patent through the use of Apple's in-app purchase and upgrade functionalities. The case was an interesting one because small developers were being held liable for their use of Apple's supported tools for iOS apps, with Apple agreeing to back the developers and claiming that Apple's existing license with Lodsys automatically extended to cover third-party developers using those tools. Lodsys continued to pressure developers, both large and small, to take out their own licenses for Lodsys' patents, with many developers choosing to purchase licenses rather than fight in court. Lodsys now claims
