UPDATE : We held a very successful Boot Camp on Sept. 9! Thanks very much to our panelists and everyone who participated. We've recorded the panel, which you can access here. Continue to watch this space for additional resources for app developers and other innovators who have been the target of patent trolls.

As you probably know, we’ve been closely following the Lodsys mess and watching as the patent troll asserts its patents against companies large and small, and — famously and most egregiously — against small app developers. Large companies such as Best Buy, CVS, and the New York Times Company are fighting Lodsys in court (and challenging the validity of its patents). But those lawsuits could take years. In the meantime, app developers all over the world, many of who cannot afford legal counsel, face the uncertainty long-felt by the victims of patent trolls and are left wondering what they can and should do to protect themselves.

Are you an app developer? Have you been targeted by Lodsys? Do you wonder what Apple’s Motion to Intervene means? How about Google’s Notice of Reexamination? Will the situation change because Lodsys sued large app developers like EA and Rovio, too? What are the elements of a patent license?

Unfortunately, EFF cannot represent all of the app developers affected by Lodsys. But we can help answer some of your questions! So please join on us September 9 at 12:00 pm PST to talk with a distinguished panel of law professors and patent attorneys who will walk us through the basics of patent litigation. We’ll be streaming the panel live and taking your questions via twitter and email. If you’d like to join us, please email bootcamp@eff.org and include your name, email address, professional affiliation, and let us know if you’ve already heard from Lodsys. In the meantime, continue to watch this space for more details. We look forward to hearing from you on September 9!