How do computer programmers protect themselves from lawsuits?

Programmers usually work for employers who take on the risk of being sued.

1. As long as you purchase your language tools from a legitimate vendor, or choose freely distributed tools (i.e. C variants under Linux) there is little risk of being sued by a tool vendor. If you steal a copy of Microsoft Visual C++ you aren't violating patents, you are breaking different laws and Microsoft will gladly try to make you pay for the theft if they can detect it.

2. Most programming tasks are obvious and don't involve any inventions that meet the requirements of patent law in the US. Lawsuits are expensive, so usually if you happen to infringe a patent the owner (if they notice it) will ask you to stop or pay a small fee to license the patent rather than immediately suing. If you are making large amounts of money with a program that violates a patent, and especially if you refuse to stop after being contacted by the patent owner then you are much more likely to be sued. There isn't much point in suing programmers, we don't generally have all that much money. Most patent lawsuits are against the firms that sell the programmers work. Those can harm you indirectly (if the firm loses enough money they may have to lay you off) or if you are an owner of the firm it can harm you more directly.

3. Patents are mostly used between firms, so if you go to work for a large firm - a Microsoft or IBM, for example, they have patent portfolios and armies of lawyers to protect their intellectual property. If you manage to violate a patent working for one of these firms they may attempt to cross license patents with the owner (let them have access to your firms patents in exchange for access to their patent(s); IBM in particular does this all the time, usually demanding some $ in the bargain). Small firms do get hassled on occasion, but mostly only if they are successful enough to make it worth the patent owning firm's trouble.

4. Hard work, tracking lots of new ideas and technologies, figuring out new applications for new tech that haven't occurred to others yet, working with creative people, and so on. We have hardly begun to scratch the surface of new technologies like wireless grid networks, extremely high bandwidth analog to digital conversion of sensor data, human/machine interaction, 3D displays, and many other new technologies. The number of patents being applied for and granted is huge - there does not seem to be any shortage of new ideas.

Bear in mind that most software work does not involve any new patentable ideas, it's just another variation of the same ideas that have been in use for decades now. Programmers mostly make their money out of the commercial success of the products they code, not patent licensing fees.

First do get your eyes tested, me I am short sighted therefore need a different set glasses for all close work, because I will not wear varivocals, If there is anything wrong with you your optician will see straight away, after all your eyes are the mirror of your sole (no joking) Even if you are borderline long or short sighted you might need glasses. Second Take regular breaks from te screen, stand up walk around helps If after having been cleared from the Opticians now I mean that sincerely, you can get a screen filter but do see the opticians they will be able to see if there are any medical reasons other than being in frot of the monitor to long

you can get an insurance policy on that.

like doctors with malpractice