Microsoft sues Barnes and Noble over Android

> I really hope there will be a trial and these patents will be invalidated, because they are one of the most absurd I have ever seen.

Very unlikely.

In the (very unlikely) case that BN resist too much (which would be very costly for them) and are on the verge of invalidating MS's patents, MS would probably just offer very good conditions for an out of court settlement.

The settlement would be of course under NDA, so MS would keep their patents and the FUD which comes with these..

Compared to the completely laughable Google Doodle patent that Google obtained today (after a 10-year process), any patent on a user interface element is innovation deserving of a Nobel Prize. Also, Microsoft has already asserted 23 patents against Motorola. Only 1 of those is part of the 5 asserted against Motorola. So just counting the ones asserted against Motorola but not yet against Barnes & Noble et al., it would be easy for Microsoft to field more patents anytime. Barnes & Noble, Foxconn and Inventec have seen now that Microsoft is determined to assert its rights, and that message doesn't depend on exactly which 5 patents -- or how many -- were asserted in the initial complaints.