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In the tech business it seems the patent system is like an arms race. You want to stock pile as many patents as you can to protect yourself from aggressors. You'll even buy worthless companies if they have some useful patents that might help against an enemy.
Google is a giant and has lots of money, but their patent profile is weak. Microsoft claims Android violates some of it's patents. Microsoft could sue Google, but that would be a tough, long, and expensive fight. Instead Microsoft is taking the easier route. They are going after Android phone manufactures. Microsoft has so far gotten 5 manufactures to pay license fees for Android. Right now Microsoft makes more money from Android phones than it does from Windows phones. And next Microsoft is going after the biggest fish, Samsung.
Google hasn't done anything to stop this, because they are defenseless. Google tried to buy Nortel for it's patents. If successful Google would have some weapons to defend it's phone manufactures against Microsoft. Because pretty much everyone is violating everyone else patents. So if you have a lot of patents you can defend yourself against someone else with patents.
But Apple outbid Google and now Apple has even more patents and Google still looking defenseless.
Apple has lots and lots of patents and is adding a bunch more with Nortel. And Apple is attacking HTC (whom is already paying Microsoft licensing fees for Android) with it's patents. So HTC has done the sensible thing and armed itself. HTC just bought S3 graphics. Turns out it was recently discovered that S3 owns some patents that Apple is using. So now HTC can counterattack Apple and maybe get Apple to back off.
And then you got companies that do absolutely nothing, but patent things they will never actually use. They just generate random ideas, patent them, and hope someone actually makes use of it, so they can sue them. Patent trolls. Lodsys is such a company, they don't do anything but patent and sue. Lodsys went after Apple and Apple paid them a license fee for whatever patent they had (something about app development I think). Then Lodsys went after the third party developers in the Apple App Store. Apple is fighting Lodsys now saying since it already paid the license, that covers it's developers as well. Lodsys seems to be backing off a bit now. They are some dinky patent troll and don't want to press it's luck against Apple.
After Apple bared it's teeth and chased Lodsys off (maybe), they've now turned their attention to Android developers. Not quite as lucrative a target, but more defenseless and Google doesn't seem to be able to protect them. Lodsys is even going after bigger companies like the NY Times and a few other companies that do business on the Internet for patent violations.
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