Why is there no "execution" rule for patents?
cdibona: Two thoughts:1) Never, ever, ever do patent investigations before coding. If you for some reason still build something and are sued, it's called willful infringement and awards triple.2) Successful patent litigation or settlements on non-executed (or submarined) patents are rarely if ever successful. It does happen, but it is very rare.3) Patent litigation happens, but rarely is it tried against small fry (read small fry as meaning unprofitable, less than say 20m in the bank, non-public and smallish, less than 100 employees,etc..) It just almost never happens. If your company is the one you link to, stop worrying about it. You are too small to bother with. Anyone threatening you will likely buy you or be themselves out of business before you can get anywhere near where you could make a court appearance.4) People will threaten. So what. It can take many (4 ->7) years for a patent case to get to trial, your lawyers on retainer can do all the wrong things and it will still take years and years. You can settle any moment before a ruling, so why do it immediately?Anyhow, I'm not a lawyer, but I've been in this space for a very very long time. Good luck.