[wharryman]

Hopefully this question will still find an answer even though this article has fallen off the front page:

Is there a company structure, or is it possible to design one, that would allow a startup to operate free from the threat of patent trolls? What comes to mind is a network of shell holding companies that is used to hide ownership of copyright IP - Charles Stross describes this in the first part of Accelerando. Simply, it may have reached a point where it is safer for startups to operate as a subsidiary of a foreign company not subject to U.S. patent law.