Why do firms agree to blackmail? In some extremely shortsighted view the cost to settle might be lower than the cost to fight it. Surely the cost to settle the

Why do firms agree to blackmail? In some extremely shortsighted view the cost to settle might be lower than the cost to fight it. Surely the cost to settle them all is more expensive than the cost to fight now. This is the exact same logic as a "don't negotiate with kidnappers/terrorists" stance. Once you negotiate with one you give validity to those tactics and others will try. Giving in to either kind of blackmail makes it impossible to profit in the long run. This is exactly why Newegg fought and crush patent trolls and why HTC and Samsung should do the same.