Electronic Frontier Foundation recruiting lawyers to take on 'patent trolls'

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has kicked off a campaign to help mobile developers targeted by patent holding firms.

The group is asking patent lawyers in the US to help defend mobile application developers against patent violation suits such as those brought by Lodsys earlier this year.

Julie Samuels, a staff attorney with the EFF, explained that the campaign is in response to an increase in cases brought by so-called 'patent trolls' against individual application developers.

"What is interesting is that this is really the first time we have seen the trolls go after app developers in large numbers," Samuels told V3.co.uk. "It is really hitting close to home."

Lodsys has spent much of 2011 pursuing mobile application developers who the company claims to be in violation of its patents. Lodsys has primarily focused on iOS developers, but has also filed against Android developers.

Apple has filed an official request to intervene in the case, claiming that its licence agreements with Lodsys extend to developers who use Apple's software development kits.

Samuels explained that the threat of a lawsuit has prompted some developers to remove their software from US application stores, and that, while the filings have been made in the US, the cases have an effect on developers around the globe.

"Lodsys has threatened to sue developers in the UK, in Vietnam, in the Netherlands and countries all over," she said. "This has not been limited to the US."

Attorneys and developers interested in the campaign can contact the EFF for further information.