This case has nothing to do with patents and everything to do with Jobs/Apple throwing a tantrum. There are so many overly broad and trivial patents that companies have no choice but to ignore them. Standard procedure is to acquire your own stash of broad and trivial patents so that other companies won't bother getting involved in a legal battle with you.
This time though, Jobs thought Samsung and Google crossed the line in the scope and extent to which android devices copied the iPhone and iPad. So he started this patent war to spite them. I think everyone involved knows that nothing will come of this except legal fees.
Pyrrhic victories at best. So far none of the injuctions have had significant impact on revenue for Samsung or Google. Android is already ahead in units (though not app or media revenue, Apple maintains huge leads there) and gaining market share. And Apple is burning goodwill at a staggering clip: just look at the comment tone in these threads vs. the same ones a year ago -- people who used to defend Apple's behavior are getting quieter and quieter...
Which is my point. I have a truckload of -10's from a year ago to show you where I was expressing misgivings about Apple's behavior. The voting, like the posting, is part of the zeitgeist. And it's moving hard in the "anti-Apple" direction.
This time though, Jobs thought Samsung and Google crossed the line in the scope and extent to which android devices copied the iPhone and iPad. So he started this patent war to spite them. I think everyone involved knows that nothing will come of this except legal fees.