Patent trolling big companies is just as unethical as trolling small ones.
PG: Red Hat, a multibillion dollar business, already has a working patent pledge - they won't use patents except defensively against people who attack them first. Copy that and use it.
I disagree. Patent trolls often just aim for a comparatively meager payout for licensing from their victims, who are usually too small to be able to afford the much more expensive option of taking it to court (and perhaps winning). Therefore a loophole in justice.
I understand that some victims are weaker than others. However that doesn't change the ethics of the matter: stealing from a poor old lady is as ethically bad as stealing from a rich kid. The impact may be greater, but the ethics are just as dubious.
Consider ID discovering a mathematical transform. If Creative signed up to PG's meaningless patent promise, they'd still be asking ID Software for protection money as they have more than 25 employees.
Not necessarily a meager payout. They don't want to kill the host (as per PG's essay), but non-practicing entities are much more likely to swing for the fences - asking for, litigating toward, and receiving large damage awards. They have less to lose.
PG: Red Hat, a multibillion dollar business, already has a working patent pledge - they won't use patents except defensively against people who attack them first. Copy that and use it.