$15 Million is a nice chunk of change to a small company, but one that Microsoft could match. Bill Gates's net worth fluctuates by hundreds of millions of dollars daily. He's probably got the 15 mill in his wallet... I don't think anyone's likely to get too badly hurt in this situation really. Those Texans will get what their patent is worth to the larger companies, and I very much doubt they'd want to burn it all up in litigation trying to bankrupt smaller companies and individuals that don't want to go along with the licensing. -Adam