Hee hee. Of course, to a large corporation such mosquitoes don't matter much. Most patent-troll companies can be paid to go away -- that is, in fact, their ent

Hee hee. Of course, to a large corporation such mosquitoes don't matter much. Most patent-troll companies can be paid to go away -- that is, in fact, their entire business model. And giant corporations get a relatively good deal in those negotiations, because they've got the money for a defense and their own giant collection of dubious patents to deploy in countersuits. It's a cost of doing business. Microsoft has to pay their legal department anyway, because even without software patents I'm sure that the company is sued dozens of times a day. It's true that, once in a blue moon, a software-patent holder will have a good enough case, and a stubborn enough attitude, to at least appear to seriously threaten the interests of a large company. But I think it's pretty rare. And appearances can be deceiving when parties are arguing over money -- bluff and bluster are important legal tactics.