It's true that we don't have much in the way of details, but it's also very hard to imagine "very kind" fitting the bill here in any way, shape, or form. "We have a portfolio of patents that we are now going to use to sue you, unless you'd like to buy them" just does not qualify as "kind" to me regardless of the rest of the interaction.
They had (and everyone has) the option to simply not file this kind of suit (or even go hog wild in the patent field). But they consistently choose to. I understand that it'd be fairly irresponsible for a large company to ignore patents, or to ignore actual, real infringement that affects its bottom line, but it is and has been blown so far out of proportion that no one in IBM's position gets a pass.
> I understand that it'd be fairly irresponsible for a large company to ignore patents, or to ignore actual, real infringement that affects its bottom line
Bingo. This is a corporate organization and your needs, or really anyone's needs but the company's, are not in its best interest to consider. From the perspective of profits, playing the patent ransom game is the best decision, especially for entrenched business giants like IBM.
They had (and everyone has) the option to simply not file this kind of suit (or even go hog wild in the patent field). But they consistently choose to. I understand that it'd be fairly irresponsible for a large company to ignore patents, or to ignore actual, real infringement that affects its bottom line, but it is and has been blown so far out of proportion that no one in IBM's position gets a pass.