It's strange that more companies don't see the long term problems created by signaling that you're willing to spend money to settle frivolous lawsuits. Another symptom of the corporate world's excessive focus on the short term?
Not all companies have as much power as Newegg to fight back. I'm guessing it does often make financial sense to just pay it, otherwise companies would have turned the tables already. I don't think it's a lack of long term thinking as much as it is a tragedy of the commons related situation.