It's not the worst option at all, it's just the best of a bunch of bad ones. As a small software company CEO I have a fiduciary responsibility to my shareholder

It's not the worst option at all, it's just the best of a bunch of bad ones. As a small software company CEO I have a fiduciary responsibility to my shareholders to maximize revenue, not to take stands against patent abuse. If my options were pay a small fee to someone who didn't deserve it, or go broke trying to fight it (no matter how right I am) I'm choosing the former. It's unclear here what is right, even if you assume the patent is total bullshit. Is spending the money your investors gave you, and that your employees depend upon for their livelihoods, to fight a (probably) unjust patent claim right? It seems you're trying to make a right out of two wrongs there. It's certainly foolish from a profit-maximizing standpoint, and it's hard to imagine it's going to have any positive effect on the patent system even if you win.