The public generally doesn't care. The courts won't change course without congress. Congress won't make a big change. Minor reform at best (I doubt we'll see much more than what is already in the oven).

The problem is that Android isn't viewed as innovative by most consumers. I think in a PR battle between Apple saying Google copies, and Google saying that Apple is blocking them from innovating -- Apple wins.

And the other issue is that a lot of the patents at stake are HW patents. Undermining HW patents is a much harder sell.

Every dollar Microsoft spends on patents cannot be spent on lobbies. And the other way around applies to Google: every dollar not spent chasing patents can be spent lobbying for patent reform.

And, while that leaves hardware patents untouched, they are not the problem. Microsoft is extorting Google partners using bogus software patents, not hardware ones.

This isn't a matter of lobbyist, rather that congress already has a big piece of legislation they're moving now on patent reform. First-to-file is years in the making. And for 95% of patents its a total no-op. Congress just will not move quickly on this. And I think Google is going to focus its lobby efforts trying to keep people away from serious antitrust investigations against them, more than patent reform.

And, while that leaves hardware patents untouched, they are not the problem. Microsoft is extorting Google partners using bogus software patents, not hardware ones.

Google wants to make this anti-MS, because MS has a worse rep. Their real concern though is Apple. For example, notice who's not shown interest in the InterDigital patents? Microsoft. Who has? Apple, Google, Samsung.

Apple doesn't want to get $10/handset for Android. They want to block Android from shipping, period. And Apple IS using HW patents to block Android. For example, they've used HW design patents such as #D618,677. Or even this patent on volume rockers: #7,863,533.

MS is happy to just collect some revenue, and try to slow Android down so they can get their phones up to speed with Mango/Tango. MS will never make a lot of money directly from the cell phone market. 100M units sold is about $1.5B in direct revenue for them. Not chump change, but not a lot of money (on par with about how much money Visual Studio makes). For Apple this is almost their complete business now. They make $250/unit. $10 royalty from Samsung doesn't offset the fact that someone bought an Android machine rather than iOS.

Plus the Nortel patents give them a bunch of HW patents that Apple will likely assert, especially if Android begins to make another push.

It's HW patents against devices running Android.

If Apple want to attack OEM on hardware patents, good luck to them.

If? Those patents I shown are part of actual lawsuits against Samsung/Motorola in court now. This isn't a hypothetical -- I'm telling you what is happening.

Samsung, Motorola and even HTC (with S3 and even their own) have tons of HW patents, this is a game Apple cannot win as all OEM could block Apple from shipping their devices, remember, only only one patents from these OEM has to be valid to block Apple from shipping.

Apple has taken that plunge already. Again, this isn't a hypothetical. All three companies you note are in court already. All three have countersued.

I'm not saying this might happen. I'm saying it is happening. Apple has already asked, and in at least one country received, injunctions on devices.

Apple isn't sitting around saying, "Lets just use SW patents to stop Android the operating system proper". They're using HW and SW patents and trade dress, and trademark to go after Android (indirectly by targeting OEMs and devices running the SW).

Google supporters seem to think this is a fight against the evil empire of Microsoft, and want to ignore Apple exists. It would be convenient if they didn't, but the fact of the matter is that Apple is likely to be the real fly in the ointment. MS might slow Android down, but it'll be Apple who crushes it.

But Apple teaming up with Microsoft is what made the issue cross some threshold for me. Individual corporations acting in independent self-interest is one thing, but industry incumbents forming a cartel to shut out competition, even if it still counts as self-interest, for me crosses a line.

Apple would use the patents regardless of the OS the phones were running. It's not Google's job to defend Motorola from any kind of patent problem - and Motorola owns quite a lot of patents in the mobile segment they can use to get cross-licensing from Apple. I doubt HTC and Samsung have the same luck.

> They're using HW and SW patents and trade dress, and trademark to go after Android

The only reason Apple is not going against WP7 phones is because WP7 doesn't represent a threat. If it ever does, Apple will use their prodigious legal to provide an excuse to phone makers to stop wasting money making the WP7 phones they have to make in order to reduce the Microsoft tax on Android phones.