I'm pretty firmly on WebM's side in this whole patent flame war thing, but getting the Justice Department looking into MPEG-LA already just makes me think Google's got some damn good lobbyists in Washington. I never heard of the government getting involved at this early stage of a patent battle before.
Of course, MPEG protection racket-esque comments in the article makes this a bit easier to swallow.
MPEG-LA asked the DOJ for clearance before they set up, since patent cartels of that type had been busted under anti-trust legislation in the past.
They made some concessions to the DOJ in order to be able to operate, which at least one licencee claims they've failed to honor. You can Google for the Nero AG vs MPEG-LA antitrust case for more info. (edit: a link, http://www.osnews.com/story/23346/Nero_Files_Antitrust_Case_...)
So it makes perfect sense for the DOJ to be involved. It's not just a patent dispute.
I guess even Google would be pissed if an investment of 125M was to be flushed down the toilet. Also, I'm pretty sure they had far-reaching strategy right from the beginning, and had prepared themselves for such issues that might eventually leading them into battle.
It's a win/win for Google. The long game is this: either they win the fight outright and webM becomes the video standard, or they use webM and the specter of long, drawn-out (and expensive) litigation to force MPEG-LA to rethink their royalty policy.
Of course, MPEG protection racket-esque comments in the article makes this a bit easier to swallow.