OK, I'll admit that this one may be even a bit far fetched for me, but take a look at the information and tell me if it doesn't look like a good deal for Sony.

According to reports from a number of locations, including CNet, Sony has settled with European inventor Andreas Pavel, who filed for a patent on a Walkman-like device in the late 1970's (about 3 years before the release of the Walkman). Despite years of court wrangling and losses at every turn by Mr. Pavel (including a costly $3.7M verdict against him in the UK, where the prevailing party in a lawsuit has its costs paid by the loser), Sony has suddenly decided to pay Pavel millions of Euros in order to get him to drop the suits in other countries.

So, what is the deal with Apple? Well, Pavel has decided he's going to sue other people with Walkman-like products, including Apple (or so it appears) and it looks like he'll be using his Sony profits to fund the lawsuit.

Well, what do you think?