January 19, 2015 — Patent troll defense is costly and stifles innovation, and the license fees trolls demand can drive companies out of business. It’s not a matter of if, or even when patent trolls—companies that make money through litigation, rather than by making products—will target OpenStack. They already have. The question now is how will the OpenStack ecosystem protect itself against patent litigation? Should the foundation lead an effort to protect members, or should individual members and companies take that on themselves.