You can patent the stuff that is essential to what you do as soon as you come up with it - before the troll can. Then the troll can't sue because they can't get the patent in the first place (or if they do, you can use yours to invalidate theirs).
I don’t believe this actually holds up, as it assumes the USPTO is sufficiently funded to perform due diligence on prior art, and assumes that minuscule improvements will not constitute patentability. Patents are intentionally written with overreach. Overlaps are common.
Oh, absolutely. It's just that, if they grant yours first, and you also intentionally write it with overreach, then even if the PTO also grants theirs, the courts will find for you because yours has priority.
That's the theory. In practice it tilts the odds in your favor, but is not an absolute safety net.
