Wow, going after GNOME is such an incredibly stupid thing for a patent troll to do. Once EFF get involved they can kiss their patent good-bye.
If the court invalidates the patent, which is likely, GNOME and other free software projects can use that as a precedent in the future, which makes it harder for trolls to operate. The smart troll picks "soft targets" who will just roll over and pay.
If the court awards statutory damages, GNOME made no money because they sold no software, so it's possible the statutory damages ends up being less than the cost to litigate. The smart troll does not pick "zero-value targets" like GNOME.
If the court awards punitive damages, GNOME has very little revenue and may not be able to pay all the damages. The smart troll does not pick "poor targets" like GNOME.
This feels like a poorly-paid paralegal just shotgunned a bunch of suits and really, really screwed up.
If they get a judgment against GNOME for violating this patent, it would make a lot of news and likely be appealed. Getting to a final precedent in favor of patent infringement would take years, sinking lots of lawyer dollars into the effort, and the whole process is fraught with an enormous amount of risk.
I just don't see them having that kind of long play in their playbook. But I don't know anyone involved... It could be they are acting stupid but are really smart?