My thoughts exactly; I had just refrained from posting a couple of hours earlier when I read this. Good point, tbaleno.

Here's another thought...let's suppose this company wins in court (and given the US legal system, that's not an outrageous scenario). Take it a step further, and say they decide not to license the technology to Toyota - but to a US manufacturer / manufacturers. Ford would be the obvious candidate, as someone else alluded to.

Blackberry, anyone ?