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They aren't, that's the whole point of it. Increase Android's (or any other competition that isn't Apple or Windows Phone) Total Cost of Ownership, by adding layer after layer of frivolous patent licensing. Now Microsoft and Apple even own their own patent troll (Rockstar Bidco) and they plan (or already have) made plans to split the patents over many shell companies, which can pass the patents along to each other like a merry-go-round, giving each plenty opportunities to sue a company time after time. Android has a low cost of ownership at the moment which makes it interesting for OEMs. If Apple, Microsoft, Rockstar Bidco or any other trolls keep on attacking Android, the balance will tip over back to Microsoft for the 'accessible' OS that OEMs will want to license (or risk patent attacks of the likes of giant trolls like Rockstar Bidco), opening the door for them to claim all the ground that Android had to cede, and give or take a few years you'd get the same thing as on the Desktop: Apple small marketshare but high profitability, Microsoft high marketshare which compensates less profit margins. But the open mobile development spirit will be dead, as worst case it'll be a minefield with more trolls than innovators, as the former will deplete the market they're in until it's no longer profitable. Oracle went after the development (break the programming language -> break the platform),
Apple went after Samsung (break their biggest manufacturer -> break the platform)
Microsoft went after the other OEMs, a bit more stealthy, but they too have attacked Motorola, HTC directly or through subsidiaries. (Patent tax the OEMs -> force them off Android to their own OS) Anyway, that's how I see it, and it's not getting any prettier anytime soon. Alas, this is all perfectly 'legal'. So I foresee much more lawsuits that'll strangle innovation and limit mobile software development to the 'happy few', unless the USPTO changes (unlikely) or SCOTUS comes up with a solution to this unholy mess. |