I would add a dash of Supreme Court uncertainty (LG v. Quanta) to the mix as well. While I'm not sure it is as big a deal as EHWEST/MIKE has made of it here and on the Yahoo board, it could be a factor if SC rules against patent owners (as seems likely since they took the case for review). I'm not sure it is a coincidence that Roger Cook authored an in-depth article (posted a few weeks ago here) on the case, saying it was likely the Supreme Court would rule (erroneously) for Quanta and against patent holders. He obviously knows the situation intimately and it could have had an effect on the settlement negotiations.