I think the problem is that most of the major companies are comfortable writing it off as a cost of doing business and don’t want to give up the possibility of using strategic patent suits themselves.
> don’t want to give up the possibility of using strategic patent suits themselves
This is a highly under-appreciated aspect of the patent world. Companies that buy and own lots of patents do so defensively. Big companies even enter into patent cross-licensing agreements with each other, where they basically say "I know you probably infringe on my patents and I probably infringe on yours, but we'll make a deal and indemnify each other". But they want to maintain those patents to harass upstart companies that would threaten their core business, so when the trolls come along, they just pay to license and move on.
Having beaten my head against the immovable mass of Quickbooks, I'm shocked to find myself cheering Intuit for anything. I'm not about to switch back, but that earns my grudging respect.
Yeah, but if such an insurance scheme can protect smaller member companies and prevent patent trolls from targeting them, I'd say that's mission accomplished. Let the patent trolls go after the companies that will pay them off, but make sure they're strongly deterred from going after the little guys.
The current patent regime does nothing to deter going after the little guys. Or even, really, the big guys. Newegg was essentially gutted by the same patent troll that Intuit beat, as the article notes. Also, Intuit's victory didn't invalidate the patent, they just were found to be not infringing.
https://www.fourmilab.ch/autofile/www/chapter2_105.html
I think the problem is that most of the major companies are comfortable writing it off as a cost of doing business and don’t want to give up the possibility of using strategic patent suits themselves.