Missing the point

Some (not all) of your are missing the point. It's not a matter of who is violating whose patents, or a matter of criminalizing patent infringement, and so on. This isn't about underdogs and bleeding hearts.

In the USA we have something called "Due Process." Well, we HAD something called Due Process, and then Bush got elected... OK, don't get me started.

But my point is that this is a violation of the concept of due process. The companies in the show were being punished without proof. In fact, without evidence. If Philips wants to take legal action against them, it needs to take them to court, not use bullying tactics.

If I can pay the government enough money to get them to back me, I can beat up whomever I please. That doesn't make me right. It doesn't make them right either, but beating them up isn't the way to settle it.

I agree: the best action overall is to simply stop showing up at German conferences. Vote with your feet.

But I know who I'm rooting for, and it ain't the bully.