The Reeder functionality is slightly different: it is not used to refresh but to get to the previous/next article. Of course it is possible that the patent is broad enough that it covers this too...
I thought the general consensus of the iOS community is that Loren filed the patent defensively to protect anyone using pull-to-refresh from being sued by someone else who could have patented it.
That's good to hear. I was intimidated by the patent's existence myself.
As an aside, I thought all that's required for that kind of defense is a provisional application. And if you really want it to pass into the public domain, you can simply let a year lapse without completing application.
Is that right? I'm not an expert and I've never patented anything. Maybe it's better to actually get the patent.
http://gorumors.com/twitter-patent-drag-to-refresh/2754292
Edit: Since there is curiosity about the claims, here's the application: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=C3PTAAAAEBAJ