Image: RPX.Dealing with patent trolls is a nuisance for even the largest of technology companies, and RPX (NASDAQ: RPXC) aims to offer protection to its customers from the threat of patent-related litigation. Yet the small company is still working to figure out how to make that business as profitable as possible, and coming into Tuesday's first-quarter earnings report, RPX investors expected that the company would suffer a huge decline in its net income on falling sales.