Florian Mueller, FOSS Patents:

…Today, finally, Apple’s motion was granted in part: “Apple is permitted to intervene in this suit, but such intervention is limited to the issues of patent exhaustion and licensing.”Judge Rodney Gilstrap concluded that Apple was entitled to intervene, and in any event, a permissive intervention (one that the court can allow in its discretion) was also an option.

Lodsys is a patent troll who last year tried to sue iOS app developers for patent infringement. Lodsys says that in-app purchases violated its patents.

With this ruling, Apple is allowed to exercise a measure of protection to shield developers who otherwise might have been exposed to such suits.