August 15, 2011 - Google has filed a reexamination request with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in an effort to stop Lodsys' lawsuits against app developers for the Android OS.
"We believe [the patents] should never have been issued," Google senior vice president and general counsel Kent Walker said in an article on Wired.com. "Developers play a critical part in the Android ecosystem and Google will continue to support them."
In June, Lodsys filed a patent lawsuit against seven developers that create apps for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices.
And in July, it was reported that many app developers were pulling out of the U.S. market because of fears of a Lodsys lawsuit.
Lodsys currently has lawsuits going against 11 smartphone app developers, and if Google's reexamination request is granted, it could stay that litigation. Both Google and Apple already have licenses under the Lodsys patents, but it is questionable whether those licenses extend to app developers.