In something like semiconductors, the main competitors have tens of thousands of patents and each infringe each other 500 times over. It is essentially a wash.

In something like semiconductors, the main competitors have tens of thousands of patents and each infringe each other 500 times over. It is essentially a wash. Competitors suits are only a good idea when you have a clear patent advantage. That is why Apple and Google got blitzed during the smartphone wars. They didn't have a phone patent portfolio like everyone else, since they were new players. It's the reason Google bought Motorola. Also, semiconductor processing is hard to reverse engineer so there are legit trade secrets that are kept.