[hackeraccount]

I'm as down as the next person on organizations like Sable Networks but honestly it's like being mad at rattlesnake that bites you if you step on it. They have a sleazy nature and they're being true to it.

My real ire is towards Cisco and Juniper. They had the money to litigate the claims and decided to pay up. I cannot help but think that this was solely done to add fixed costs to any competitor.

[lolc]

Yes, Cisco and Juniper are financing an entity that creates "fixed costs" that are easier for bigger companies to bear. They can argue that it was cheaper to pay, but that's only half the picture. They help create an environment that's harder on upstarts.

Cloudflare still has some upstart culture: they get offended and lash out, which not only keeps trolls away but it's good for their brand too.

I wouldn't characterize the likes of Sable as rattlesnake though. They're parasitic. If you don't pick off leeches, more and more of them will come to suck.

[silexia]

Victim blaming is no better when it is done to a patent troll victim than to a rape victim. Change the laws to put pressure on the trolls. Or better yet, just outlaw patents altogether.

[woliveirajr]

Bean counters and risk management.

When you have a small risk of losing billions and a fixed, small price for settle the risk, you will decide to whatever is smaller.

No one, inside Cisco/Juniper/ whatever will ever be confronted why he chose to minimize risks. And this also applies to buying some gartner recommendation, doing business with IBM or Microsoft etc. Being on the safe side helps you have a long path in the company road.

[everybodyknows]

> ... Cisco and Juniper ... add fixed costs to any competitor.

Brilliant observation that -- recalled for me reading long ago in a business journal that industrial giants sometimes offer no objection to heavier government regulation, because the relative disadvantage to smaller competitors can make it a net win for themselves.