[cheald]

I don't think the patent should be granted. I also think software patents are unequivocally bullshit.

All that said, Google's playing the game here. You file for whatever you can, because the cost of filing is minimal. You take whatever sticks. You then use your collection as a latent threat to deter other more sue-happy players from challenging you on some bullshit claim because of some bullshit software patent they hold, because the greater the chance that they're infringing on some bullshit claim on some bullshit patent you hold, the more bargaining power you have to force a beneficial a cross-licensing agreement rather than an expensive legal judgment.

The problem is that software patents exist and that the USPTO grants them and that the courts enforce them and that companies like Microsoft and Apple assert them as tools to stifle competitors (as opposed to protecting actual innovation). Refusing to play the game just leaves Google in a weak position.