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It's not 8x, but Rackspace is lobbying[1] for a bill that would allow courts to make patent trolls pay for all of the cost incurred by the defending party in a failed suit[2].

[1] http://www.rackspace.com/blog/patent-trolls-make-them-pay/ (last paragraph) [2] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:H.R.845%3A

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But trolls are usually shell companies, aren't they?

What's to stop them from declaring bankruptcy and wash their hands of the whole thing?

Since the troll's targets would probably have to pay their lawyers upfront, I don't see how this bill would make any difference.

That's why I would advocate patent trolling in - extreme cases, where the trolling company knows the patent is invalid or not applicable - should be considered a form of fraud. Then the directors should be liable for criminal sanctions.

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