Ars:

Lodsys became one of the most scorned patent holders in 2011 by making seemingly small cash demands just 0.575 percent of your revenue, please! against small app makers, who it said were infringing its patents that cover in-app purchasing and upgrades. Within months, that brought a legal challenge by Apple, which saw a clear threat to its ecosystem. Apple had already paid to license Lodsys patents when they were in the hands of an earlier owner—Intellectual Ventures. So Apple went to court, arguing that Lodsys cant demand additional payments by threatening iOS developers. Now, after two years of litigation, its back to square one. The East Texas judge overseeing Lodsys systematic patent attack on app developers has refused to even consider Apples motion. Instead, he allowed the patent-holding company to settle all its cases—and then dismissed Apples motion as moot. By doing so, US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap—who has inherited the patent-happy East Texas court that once belonged to patent-troll favorite T. John Ward—has enabled Lodsys to threaten developers for months, and perhaps even years, to come.

Unbelievable. The US patent system is broken beyond repair, and this is a prime example.

EDIT: There’s more. This is just insulting, plain and simple:

Lodsys can be sure it will continue to draw Judge Gilstrap as long as it files its cases in Marshall, Texas. The other judge who considers patent cases filed there is US District Judge Leonard Davis, but since Judge Davis' son William "Bo" Davis is Lodsys' lawyer, the company's cases will all be redirected to Gilstrap.