It's generally not a problem until you start making enough money (or get a lot of funding) to be worth suing in the first place, at which point you can afford t

It's generally not a problem until you start making enough money (or get a lot of funding) to be worth suing in the first place, at which point you can afford to pay them off (or potentially fight it, though as noted that can be much more expensive). There's supposedly recent changes in the law allow you to fight patent suits without a million-dollar legal process. Not sure how well it works for people. I don't think the risk is really that high of dealing with a patent troll. Competing firms are much more likely to sue you in my experience. To "insure" against these you need your own patent portfolio to counter sue them with. Or license some technology from a giant company that protects it for you. Or, again, just pay them off. Either way, the goal isn't to shut you down but to bleed you of some of that money you are making. So it's a good problem to have in a sense.