@3:
The article says "SES is currently suing Boeing for an unrelated New Skies matter in the order of $50 million dollars - and Boeing told SES that the patent was only available if SES Americom dropped the lawsuit."
Ignoring how questionable the patent itself is, SES Americom can hardly play the innocent victim.

The article even goes on to say how there have been several offers to buy the satellite and correct its orbit but SES Americom would prefer an insurance payout - without informing its insurer of the alternatives. The patent is ridiculous but the post saying the satellite "being abandoned in orbit because its position can't be corrected without violating a Boeing patent" is far from the whole story...