Ok, this isn't my normal HN username, sorry.
Our startup provides web services/apps to a specific industry. Today I received news that one of our main competitors (although larger) just paid a multi-million dollar settlement to a patent troll.
I'm no attorney, but reading the abstract of the patent is scary–it's so broad that just about any tech company in our industry could be a target. They sued 2 even larger companies in the early 2000's (patent was filed in 2001, so it seems like they're going down the list of targets based on size.
We're profitable and growing well, but not to the point where we'd be "next on the list" ...
What should we do?
Secondly, keep an eye on the patent troll's behavior and on the response from your competitors. If you are friendly with your competitors, see what info you can dig up about the patent trolls. See if you observe the trolls speeding up or slowing down. You might find that a "big" settlement wasn't as big as you might have guessed.
Thirdly, don't panic. There are patent trolls in every industry. I was sued by one once -- for a zero-revenue side project -- and it fizzled, but I worried a lot along the way. If they haven't tried to contact you yet, your time is probably better spent developing your business.