Note to reader: This post is from an old blog called AbolishIP. See What was ‘AbolishIP’? for more information

Ars Technica published a great article on non-practicing entity (NPE) Project Paperless LLC and its family of shell companies.

The technique used by these shells and their law firms is simple and, sadly, almost cliche: 1) target small businesses with little to no legal faculty; 2) demand cash for infringing flimsy patents completely unrelated to their respective service lines. In this case, the diverse offenders had the audacity to use the email functionality bundled with their printers. 

Relevant patents: 6,185,590, 6,771,381, 7,477,410 and 7,986,426.

Source: Ars Technica