Someone really needs to tell the tech industry patents don't make any sense for them. If there's a correct answer to a problem, you shouldn't be able to patent it because any other company would arrive at the exact same answer on their own. Patents are supposed to prevent other companies from copying, not prevent them from solving problems.
The funny thing is, there isn't anyone who even starts to suggest that these companies are stealing information from each other. They're just saying "We patented this before you did, even though we both came to the same answer on our own." And apparently, the way the system works, that means one company owes the other money.