I don't remember the details, but I read somewhere that a US court has ruled that only patent attorneys can understand patents. If you're not a patent attorney

I don't remember the details, but I read somewhere that a US court has ruled that only patent attorneys can understand patents. If you're not a patent attorney, and you read a patent, and determine that you don't violate it, and later the court finds out that you did, then you're on the hook for 3x the damages you would be if you hadn't read the patent. Needless to say, this is totally f'ed up. But that doesn't change the ruling. As a consequence, it's probably better for us techies to bury our head in the sand when it comes to searching out patents that exist. Assume that if you're somewhat successful, patent trolls will attack you, and the best option you have may be treating the "protection money" as a cost of doing business. Practical things we can do: (1) Bring the issue to the attention of your Representatives/Senators. Focus on your role as a small-business job creator; politicians love that particular turn of phrase. (2) When you're Google- or Facebook-successful, remember what the little guys are going through, and go after the patent trolls to improve things for our entire industry! (3) Donate to people like EFF. (4) If you pay "protection money", try to make sure the deal includes clauses that let you back out later when you have more resources. For example, a clause that says you'll pay the troll, but neither admit nor deny that you violate the patent. That way, when you're small you pay them to go away; when you're successful enough, you might be able to sue them and recover your protection payments. (5) Become a patent troll yourself. It seems like a foolproof business model, at least until the law changes.