I suggested companies join the RPX patent protection club back in 2008 as I have seen how patent litigation can destroy a company’s profitability and force it to lose focus. RPX as you may remember is a firm whose goal is to allow companies to buy into a pool of patents which can be used to protect them against future lawsuits. The idea is a company will think twice about pursuing a patent lawsuit if you can countersue using a huge pool of patents.
Since my original entry, Microsoft, Nokia and Sony have signed up for the service. I expected all the companies who signed up to be the size of RPX customer ShoreTel or even smaller so I was a bit surprised when I read about the success RPX is having with large companies. If you want to learn more, be sure to check out this article from Rachael King at BusinessWeek.