"It's going to be interesting to see whether Google does the same swerve down the line and not just stick to using patents in defence."

Google is already swerving. They're interested in utilizing the Moto patent portfolio to implement 2.25% of total device cost fees on FRAND patents.

In fact, they're already moving forward with that against Apple, which would net them (based on Q42011 sales) over $500,000,000 a quarter, or in the $1.5-2.0B per year on the iPhone alone.

It's no wonder Google is moving forward: That's likely as much or more money than they make on their own Android OS!