MPHJ Technology Investments is a Waco, Texas-based company that has been called the poster child for "

patent troll In international law and business, patent trolling or patent hoarding is a categorical or pejorative term applied to a person or company that attempts to enforce patent rights against accused infringers far beyond the patent's actual value or ...

s" due to its practice of suing

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...

es for

patent infringement Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may v ...

for using the scan-to-email function on their own office equipment. The company's argument is that they own the patent for the networked scan-to-email process and so are entitled to payments for each worker at a business that uses this function.

Controversial patent activities

MPHJ bought the patents for the scan-to-email function in 2012, and began sending letters to small businesses threatening them with patent infringement lawsuits later that year. In their letters, the company demanded that these businesses pay them a varying amount of money ($9,000 for the smallest business targeted and more for the others). The company has been targeted by different politicians, including Jim Bruning and

Peter DeFazio Peter Anthony DeFazio (; born May 27, 1947) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 1987. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis, Roseburg, Coos Bay ...

, the latter of whom introduced the anti-patent troll SHIELD Act into the House of Representatives. In 2014, the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

(FTC) filed a complaint against MPHJ, and on November 6 of that year, the FTC and MPHJ announced an agreement under the terms of which MPHJ would no longer make deceptive claims. In September 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an opinion requiring that MPHJ face charges in Vermont over allegations that it violated that state's

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

laws.

References

{{Reflist Companies based in Waco, Texas