They hire the best in the valley to come up with this <good feature> to <build their userbase and provide a cool feature to users>. Then, their lawyers patent i

They hire the best in the valley to come up with this <good feature> to <build their userbase and provide a cool feature to users>. Then, their lawyers patent it because a big patent war chest seems like the best defense in the patent infringement war. Sad, but a wise business strategy right now.