So far, there is not much to sue over on either potential product. Neither is shipping and Apple may be negotiating to license the patents.
Good points. Licensing is definitely the way to go, in this case Microsoft should license the patent if they have not already done so, and Apple should be allowed to charge whatever they want for it. Wonder what, if any, agreements currently exist between the two, any idea?
Often such information is very difficult to obtain, even when actual partnerships are publicly announced, but surely they have met and have some sort of agreement. The ultimate conspiracy theory is there's a full partnership, but that's not one I believe, and the exact state of the relationship is always something of great speculation. I'd say if Apple is doing most of the innovating, they should be reaping most of the profits, and if others such as Microsoft want to use the same patented features they should be paying a royalty. If they're not, why isn't Apple asking for it?