"Burst survived, though. Convinced that a 2001 release of Windows Media Player infringed on Burst's technology, Lang got an investor to put up $1.5 million to keep the company afloat as it pursued a lawsuit, filed in June, 2002. Without admitting liability, Microsoft agreed to the $60 million settlement a day before a hearing on whether it had destroyed evidence. Although the myth is that trolls get fabulously wealthy, Lang personally ended up with just a fraction of the settlement proceeds, $2.5 million.

Believing the victory validated his patent claims, Lang has expanded his search for licensees. Apple was his first stop, and not only because of its deep pockets. Apple reps had approached him at a trade show back in 1991, and Burst met with Apple in 1999, 2000, and 2002. "The attitude is exactly like it is at Microsoft and everywhere else. If you won't take next to nothing [for Burst's technology], we'll fight you for the next 10 years," he says.

That may well be what happens. Lang's patents have never been upheld in court, and Apple will be a formidable foe. But he insists his easygoing style doesn't tell the whole story: "I'm a bit of a terrier."