These types of agreements might mean that we move from "software patents held by tech giants" to "software patents held by a cartel of tech giants". That would be worse.
An agreement like this might avoid the next high-profile lawsuit, but instead of fixing the patent system it's tapering over the most visible symptom, creating a patent oligopoly in the process.
Maybe I'm seeing things, but I'm just having Google's ongoing anti-poaching scandal fresh in mind.
Nothing systemic has changed. It's just a little harder for Apple to be litigious with Samsung and Google, that's all. There are still plenty of other players in the patent lawsuit business.
An agreement like this might avoid the next high-profile lawsuit, but instead of fixing the patent system it's tapering over the most visible symptom, creating a patent oligopoly in the process.
Maybe I'm seeing things, but I'm just having Google's ongoing anti-poaching scandal fresh in mind.