In June 2011, to intervene in Lodsys' lawsuit. On Thursday, patent expert Florian Mueller that the Court has, at last, granted Apple permission.

"Apple is permitted to intervene in this suit, but such intervention is limited to the issues of patent exhaustion and licensing," concluded Judge Rodney Gilstrap.

When several iOS app developers from Lodsys in May 2011, they were accused of infringing on four patents that deal with online help, subscription renewals, in-app purchasing, and interactive online advertisements. The developers reached out to Apple for legal advice, , saying that its existing license for patents covering in-app purchases applies to all iOS app makers as well.

"Apple is undisputedly licensed to these patents and the Apple App Makers are protected by that license. There is no basis for Lodsys' infringement allegations against Apple's App Makers," wrote senior vice president and general counsel Bruce Sewell, in a letter sent to Lodsys shortly after the accusations were made last year.

Despite this, against seven developers on 31 May 2011 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The company seemed sure of its position, and even promised that it will pay $1000 to any developer that it has accused of infringement if it is determined that Apple's license cover third-party developers.