Curious development
This seems like an interesting solution on the part of real tech companies to the problem of patent trolls. Everybody buys in, everybody gets a license to all the patents, nobody faces a lawsuit ten years down the line after they've made billions on a hit product.
And by 'everybody' I of course mean just those in the consortium. Everybody else gets a big, fat barrier to entry. Still, I'd rather see companies which make real products get a deep moat around their turf than see the money go to patent squatters who produce nothing but legal bills.