VIA Technologies is unleashing its legal beagles at Apple for allegedly infringing on three microprocessor-related patents and has filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) and the U.S. District Court of Delaware. The patent infringement allegations extend to Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple TV devices, as well as associated software.

A company called "Internet Machines" is suing several high profile technology bigwigs over alleged patent infringement violations related to PCI Express switch technology. Just some of the many names include Dell, Nvidia, AMD, Asus, and Samsung, but Internet Machines is also targeting retailers like Best Buy and TigerDirect, as well as system builders, one of which told us this feels like an extortion scheme.

You're free to hate both the player and the game when it comes to patent litigation, but one thing you can't do is sit on the sidelines and hope the competition plays out fairly. Google knows this, hence the mad rush to shore up its Android defense by stuffing its patent portfolio to the brim. First came the Motorola acquisition, and now Google went and cut a check to IBM in exchange for over 1,000 patents.

Companies hoping to shield themselves from costly patent lawsuits have no choice but to play the patent game, which entails building up as big of a patent portfolio as possible. It's expensive, but still cheaper than going to court and risking high dollar verdicts. Some consider it a broken system, including Google, which has publicly called for patent reform. In the meantime, Google is forced to play the game, and according to reports, the search giant just purchased over 1,000 patents from IBM.