Also, Google made the first move with this type of grievance. They have the luxury of setting the tone and ensuring that all other parties only have a chance to defend themselves rather than achieve anything greater than when this all started.
Somehow I've got the feeling everybody is going to win. Google made the patent problem very public. This spark might light the fire of a revolution.
Google wants to be secure by buying up patents and over turn the Nortel patent sale. They are just whining that they don't have a toy too.
Nobody is talking about overthrowing the patent system except for maybe people on HN. Google very seriously wants to be a player in this and have a patent portfolio. Read their blog post's last paragraph.
I think you misunderstood the last paragraph. They want to challenge competition by innovation not by a patent war. Google's patent portfolio is there to protect them against unfair competition.
"Patents were meant to encourage innovation, but lately they are being used as a weapon to stop it."
Everyone I know /patent lawyers included/ has said that the system is broken.
It's a cold war; everyone's got to have nukes, just in case the other guy uses them. Then some upstart like PRNK, ahem I mean /Lodsys/, comes along, lobs one into someone's applecart, and suddenly ICBMs are flying everywhere.
What we have here, gentlemen, is a mind shaft gap.