IANAL, but I suppose that, since patent claims are extremely subjective to one judge's personal opinion. That objectivity is of very little concern, the results

IANAL, but I suppose that, since patent claims are extremely subjective to one judge's personal opinion. That objectivity is of very little concern, the results are very unpredictable. There's very little precedence to most software patent suits. So even something that seem objectively ridiculous, could turn out to be a profitable attempt if you get lucky. So in short, they know they can get lucky, measure costs and potential benefits, and assume the risk is worth it. Maybe if it seem unlikely to win. A dying company doesn't have much to lose. And in the odd occasion that luck is in their favor. They could win a huge load of money.