I'm still asking for the supposed long list of companies that are doing exactly what Apple does- other than patent troll operations of course. The insistance that 'this is just the way it is' is made with such conviction, that this should be EASY to cite actual examples of.
I just posted a website that lists IP related lawsuits and pointed out a few well-known, high profile companies from other industries engaged in these suits. Apparently, that is the way it is. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many lawsuits. Of course, based on the limited information, I can't possibly even begin to determine which suits I would consider having merit, let alone apply your reasoning to them.
However, assume for the sake of argument, that the vast majority of companies act in their own best self-interest. Therefore, they're going to behave like Apple more often than not. In that case, they'd probably qualify as "doing exactly what Apple does." In which that website would seem to suggest that there are a large number of examples.
Otherwise, I'm not quite sure what you'd actually accept as evidence to support that point. If you don't think it holds, please point out an actual reason why, rather than just casually dismissing it. Do you have some evidence to suggest that this isn't happening (or is common for that matter) in other industries, or is it just something that you've come to believe?
Samsung's made a lot of stupid mistakes, but face it- Apple goes after models of their phones that clearly in no way are anything like anything Apple makes. The evidence of that is overwhelming, but still 'team Apple' tries to sweep that fact under the rug.
While not all of Samsung's phones were included in Apple's trade dress and design patent lawsuits, they are also asserting that Samsung violates some of their utility patents. There's more than just one issue at play, and it seems as though you're unintentionally mixing everything together.
That's the issue here, not that there's legitimate intellectual property for things people and companies actually INVENT. Apple didn't invent half the crap its citing to block the products of its competitors.
I'd suggest researching what patents Apple are using against Samsung, analyzing them, and then posting prior art. It seems more often than not, people remark that Apple's patents shouldn't be valid, but can't cite much in the way of prior art.
Anything less just devolves into the same back and forth bickering between the different sides in the debate. No one bothers to post any factual evidence and people end up insulting each other based on their own opinions. No one learns anything, and everyone just gets a little bit more bitter and dismissive.