Patent holding company Lodsys still insists that some iOS developers owe it patent fees, despite Apple saying they're protected from Lodsys' claims.

In fact, Lodsys is so confident it's right, it says it will pay $1,000 to every developer it contacted if Apple turns out to be right. It also began filing lawsuits today to "preserve its legal options."

Earlier this month, Lodsys sent letters to some iOS developers demanding license fees for a patent related to putting an "upgrade" button in apps.

Apple had already licensed the patent in question, and last week Apple chief counsel Patrick Sewell published a letter saying that its license covers iOS developers, too.

Today, Lodsys fired back by suing developers right now instead of waiting as it originally planned to do. The company also wrote a series of blog posts saying that Apple is wrong and has fibbed to developers about how much protection it offers them, offering $1,000 to every developer it contacted if Apple turns out to be right, and explaining that it's just another little guy playing by the rules -- not a mean old troll.

Looks like this one is going to court.

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See Also:

• "Completely Revamped Notifications And Widgets" Coming To iOS 5
• It's All But Certain We're Not Seeing An iPhone 4S, Or iPhone 5 Next Week
• Apple's iCloud Is Coming -- How Much Will It Cost?

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