Cease And Desist Letters Hitting Indie App Developers Using Apple's Own In-App Purchasing Tool

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A strange new story is emerging, folks, and this is for most everybody who’s developed–or is developing–an app for iOS that uses Apple’s in-app purchasing system. Cease and desist letters have been reportedly received by two developers who’ve said that the letters in question said they must license a patent from the letters’ sender or face legal action.

So far, the letters–sent by FedEx–have arrived for two developers who use in-app purchasing for their own apps: James Thomson, creator of the PCalc app (and also PCalc Lite, which uses in-app purchasing), and Patrick McCarron, creator of the game Shanghai Mahjong. Both received letters only recently, which claimed that both are infringing their patents with the use of in-app purchasing, and that they should license the patent from the company sending the letters. Thomson, based on reports from his Twitter feed, forwarded the whole thing on to Apple’s legal department, while McCarron seems a bit more cavalier about the whole thing.

This development has left numerous app developers understandably shaken, wondering if they will be next to receive one of the frankly bizarre letters, as plenty of apps offer some kind of in-app purchasing setup.

And moreover, recent updates suggest that the company that issued the cease and desist letters was Lodsys LLC, and that the purpose behind such suits may be to build precedent to take on Apple proper in court. That’s strictly supposition, of course, but that’s the current word.

Are we watching the earliest stages of a serious patent war between Lodsys and Apple? Maybe. Could this be a big deal? Possibly. Is Google licking its chops at the thought of one of Apple’s biggest sectors about to get hugely bogged down by some legal wrangling? Could be. But the point here is that this is one worth watching. Do you guys think that Lodsys is about to take on Apple in a battle royale? Or will this be tossed aside as a tempest in a teapot? Hit the comments section and let us know what you think!