The lawsuit is becoming a tool for these companies to SLOWDOWN their competitors and most of them are thrown out.
I was read and article a few weeks back that addressed the growth of Android and how the profit structure to the carriers was much greater than the iPhone or Windows based phones. As such the carriers were more likely to talk up and push Android based phones on customers looking to join the smartphone revolution.
Now when you think about the fact that without the carriers (ATT, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile) both Microsoft and Apple could lose big time. This is really true of Apple, which has seen it share price go up dramatically with the success of the iPhone. So where would the stock price be if the carriers decided that the iPhone would not be available or as a special order only? (I can see this coming due to Apple's pricing policies) Apple would be stuck trying to sell and unlocked phone like Google tried with the Next One, which we all know was a real success or they would be stuck doing deep discounts and having to accept lower profits.
The lawsuit is becoming a tool for these companies to SLOWDOWN their competitors and most of them are thrown out. US Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, a.k.a., the Copyright Clause, "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
I'm starting to think that all patent and copyright lawsuits should first go through an arbitration board. Make it a $100 filing fee and a maximum filing of two pages, plus one page per claim. The first job of the board will be to see whether the lawsuit within the whole of the situation fits the aims of the above clause. If not, the suit is dismissed. Next, the board could make a summary judgment, if there is obvious merit and infringement, immediately award to the plaintiff, and vice versa. Otherwise, direct to trial. Staff the board with copyright experts and patent examiners. Make them all extensively read the writings of Jefferson and Madison (the two who most shaped the Copyright Clause) before taking their positions.