"If the patent is invalid or there's no infringement, the trolls should have to pay the legal fees."
By offering to reduce the time to five years, they are implicitly supporting the idea of using and defending the patent for those five years. You might legitimately think there's infringement and then the court might find otherwise. Calling anyone who goes to court with a patent a troll seems unnecessary in that case.
"Infringers should avoid liability if they independently arrive at the patented invention."
You don't pay damages, and then what happens? Do you still have to get a license or can you keep going because you invented it on your own? Also: how do you prove you independently arrived at the patented invention? Who's burden is it to prove / disprove it?
By offering to reduce the time to five years, they are implicitly supporting the idea of using and defending the patent for those five years. You might legitimately think there's infringement and then the court might find otherwise. Calling anyone who goes to court with a patent a troll seems unnecessary in that case.
"Infringers should avoid liability if they independently arrive at the patented invention."
You don't pay damages, and then what happens? Do you still have to get a license or can you keep going because you invented it on your own? Also: how do you prove you independently arrived at the patented invention? Who's burden is it to prove / disprove it?