Patent troll Lodsys targets independent developer of Tiny Wings Android clone Dillo Hills

Not content with attempting to sue Rovio, EA, Atari, Square Enix, and a bunch of other big name players in the gaming industry, patent troll Lodsys is once again going after the little guy.

Posting on social news website Reddit, independent developer Justin Smith - best known for his Tiny Wings Android clone Dillo Hills - has detailed the company's patent infringement claim against him.

"Yesterday, I received a bulky envelope containing a massive stack of papers from an address I didn't recognize: Lodsys, LLC, from somewhere in Texas.

"It was a kind gesture, as I'm actually starting to run low on toilet paper, but some of the papers claim that one of my personal/hobby projects, Dillo Hills, is infringing upon one or more of their patents."

The patent in question is numbered 7,222,078 and refers to an in-game 'Premium Players Only' button, which allows you to upgrade a free app into a paid app, complete with benefits.

Dillo Hills Lite has since been removed from the Android Market by Smith.

"Anyway, the very first thing I did is take the free version of the game off the market, so that I am not willingly infringing on any of these patents, no matter how stupid and unreasonable they are."

Click on the link below to view several more photos of the claim in question.