"Begin with a relatively low initial payment, and then if the patents are rendered invalid, they would not have to pay any additional, and are only out their smaller initial payment."

I believe you make a very good point here. The part I like is what I believe you are alluding to.  We haven't accepted reoccurring payments in the past, most likely because we wanted to be assured that what we collected with a one time fee is what we kept since Texas was such a big unknown. I know TPL stated that they were not setup to accommodate/manage the accounting aspect for reoccurring payments, but I am sure that was just the line they gave us rather than admit the uncertainty of Texas. The fact that they are now accepting payment(s) as you explained above, may well very mean that they no longer feel Texas is as uncertain as it was in the past. Of course nothing is guaranteed, but the confidence seems to be growing, and that sends a strong message to both the J3, and 300+ infringers who still owe us for using the MMP. Could be good! All in my opinion. Hope all is well with you! Good luck to you, me, us, and all longs.