From what I've seen so patents are written so generically and so poorly researched that you have to wonder how they got through. (I know IBM used to be really big on having the most patents and that, at some time during the year, they'd do this big sweep through the company to try and round up everything that might count towards that total.)

The flip side is that any of the companies protesting these "patent trolls" would be quick to holler that their own patents are spun from the purest of gold and intentions. You can guess what their response would be if one of those "trolls" said, "I'll tell you what -- we'll let you play fast and loose with our patents if we can do the same with yours."