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Mar

It Has Begun: April Fool's 2013 Roundup From Around The Web [Continuously Updated]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Off-Topic, Roundups

Last Updated: May 13th, 2013

April Fool's 2013 is here (at least in some time zones), and the Internet has already given birth to a few early pranks. We will spend the next two days second-guessing every piece of written content, getting rickrolled, and generally feeling the way members of bomb squads do on their missions.And we will ~~hate~~ love every minute of it.

So, let's take a look at the best Android, mobile, and Google-related jokes that hit the web this year.

*** This page will be continuously updated ***

Check out April Fool's pranks from 2011 and 2012.

Sep

AskPatents Is A Crowd Sourcing Forum That Puts Armchair Patent Analysts To Work In The Fight Against Trolls

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

Let's face it. The patent system is a mess. Applying for a patent can be a process that takes years. Then there's the issue of prior art. Is this patent valid? Was it obvious? Should it have been granted in the first place? And that's without getting into whether or not other devices infringe. It can be a huge cluster of ugly. Enter AskPatents. This new Stack Exchange site has been set up to crowd source the finding of prior art and researching whether or not patents are valid.

The site functions very similarly to other hivemind information hubs like Metafilter or, you know, Stack Exchange.

Jun

Oracle Wants Some Karma Back, Sues Patent Troll Lodsys, Wants All Its Patents Invalidated

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News

What an interesting turn of events - Oracle just sued a notorious patent troll Lodsys, seeking invalidation of four of Lodsys' patents. In fact, these are all the patents Lodsys owns - if Oracle wins, Lodsys will have nothing to threaten innocent developers with.

If you haven't been following the Lodsys drama for the past year+, let me step back for a brief history lesson. Lodsys LLC, a Texas patent troll shell corporation, has been harassing various developers since early 2011, including many with Android apps in the Play Store. The patents Lodsys used to threaten Android developers, large and small, are 7,222,078, to which everyone refers to as simply "078" and 7,620,565 ("565").

Apr

Android/Mobile/Google April Fool's 2012 Roundup From Around The Web [Updated Throughout The Day]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Off-Topic

Last Updated: April 3rd, 2012

Simultaneously the most despised and glorious day of the year is upon us - April Fool's day 2012. The day we spend questioning whether anything and everything we see is real and expect a prank around every ~~corner~~ link. Click, click, rickroll, click, rickroll, .

So, let's take a look at the best Android, mobile, and Google-related jokes that hit the web this year.

*** Check in here throughout the day as the page will be continuously updated ***

Want to refresh your memory? Check out April Fool's pranks from 2011.

If you want to contribute something Android / Mobile / Google-themed (let's not get off-topic here) not already in the list, feel free to post worthy trolls (including source urls) in the comments, and we'll put the best ones up.

Nov

Patent Trolls: What Is Lodsys Actually Asking App Developers To Pay? You Might Be Surprised

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, Legal

OK, before I even get into this post, let me be clear: this is based on old news. However, it was news that no one seemed to pick up at the time, and when we discovered it, we thought it was quite interesting.

If you're unfamiliar with Lodsys, let's start with a history lesson. They're better known as the shell corporation offspring of a company called Intellectual Ventures LLC, a patent clearinghouse owned by a group of, shall we say, enterprising individuals. Their purpose? Buy as many viable tech patents as possible, and force major corporations into licensing (paying royalties) deals when infringement on any of these patents, which is actively searched for, is discovered.

Aug

Google Takes First Baby Steps In The Fight Against Lodsys

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in News

Lately, it seems like news about patent lawsuits and bullying is worse than most Hollywood gossip. Frankly, most of the suits are about as justified as Hollywood gossip, if not less. Nevertheless, there are bright spots - such as when the big dogs step up alongside developers to help fight back the patent trolls. Such happened yesterday, when it was revealed that Google has joined Apple in the fight against patent troll Lodsys' claims against developers.

^{Artist's rendering of Lodsys.}

For the uninitiated, Lodsys is a company that does nothing but hold patents for the purpose of licensing them. They produce no goods and offer no real services, and their patents are purchased from others - meaning they contribute nothing to the process.

Aug

Lodsys Flags Another Android Developer - Bithack, The Creator Of Apparatus. Here Is One Of Their Ridiculous Infringement Claims [Pictures]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News

Lodsys, the king troll of all patent trolls, has been attacking developers of both Android and iOS apps for a few months now (yeah, even Rovio) with their claims of owning a patent to the free->paid upgrade process using in-app purchases.

Their latest victim is Bithack, the developer of Apparatus. Yup, the same Bithack who raised hell about the Amazon Appstore last month and whose game is currently averaging 4.6 stars in the Market. Lodsys is not currently suing them, but did sent a heap of documents with patent license requests, looking for a quick settlement rather than going to court.

Jul

Lodsys Sues Rovio For Patent Infringement Over Angry Birds For Android - We Break Out The Popcorn

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

Well, it seems Lodsys has gotten a lot more gravitas in the last few months due to the success of its patent-trolling efforts. The company's legal reps have amended a complaint filed in the Eastern District of Texas (also known as the "rocket docket" district for the speediness and plaintiff-friendliness of its trials), and it's a doozy.

From Lodsys's Complaint

Lodsys has sued Rovio over Angry Birds for Android (and iPhone), along with Electronic Arts (EA), Atari, Square Enix, and Take-Two Interactive - and many others (37 total, in fact). The latter publishers were all sued for iPhone games.

This, in our book, says little for Lodsys's credibility.

Jun

Lodsys Patent Trolling Continues - What Should Android Developers Do, Google?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

Update: Cory Trese's infringement notice was apparently sent to him by mistake - whatever that means. He received a call from Lodsys stating they'd like all the materials they sent returned. What's happened? Who knows, but as someone in our team chat room sarcastically stated - maybe they forgot a zero somewhere.

We received this tweet from Cory Trese yesterday, developer of a game called Star Traders 2, in regard to a settlement offer he received from Lodsys LLC (a patent troll shell corporation):

This isn't a friendly letter. In fact, it's probably downright terrifying as a prospect to most developers, and understandably so.

May

Lodsys Patent Trolling Starting To Target Android App Devs - OK, Now It's Personal

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Apps/Games, Editorials, News

You've all probably heard bits and pieces of news about a company called Lodsys in the last couple of weeks, (they've been "patent trolling" iOS app developers) even if you don't really keep up on all things fruit-related. If you're not familiar with the story, let me give you a quick rundown.

Lodsys is what we affectionately refer to as a "patent troll" - a company that buys up promising and often vague or [overly] broad patents in a hope of using them to threaten to sue the pants off people that they know might be infringing on them. Let me say that again - they find a patent, find out how many people might be infringing it, and then decide to buy it.