Patent concerns

Hi - I have a worry on another perspective. So OK if one can’t patent an idea of a social network - you go about building a site and then one fine day a ‘big-fish’ files a case of patent infringement because you used functionality that is now a days prevalent and popular (and by now commonsense). How could one go about doing their job without the risk on stepping on anyone else’s patent? I can’t imagine how one could validate each and every bit of functionality / code / method used is not similar to or actually been done before by someone. Is there a way to safely and sensibly go about designing and developing without stepping on someone else’s territory? What if one stops looking at any similar sites and goes about their own research and comes-up with a process that was patented by someone else - would you still be blamed / sued even if you really didn’t copy? (sorry if all this sounds silly :slight_smile: )