Some states have tried to make this better with anti-SLAPP laws. If the purpose of the litigation is to bankrupt the other party who is doing something legal,

Some states have tried to make this better with anti-SLAPP laws. If the purpose of the litigation is to bankrupt the other party who is doing something legal, then the case can often be dismissed very early, and the plaintiff will have to pay a fine. I am not sure if reverse engineering video game consoles fits into "a matter of public interest", but if you get nastygrams, it's probably worth talking to a lawyer. This might be something they can deal with in an afternoon and not a multi-year battle that bankrupts you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_publ...