Copyright troll

[7] More recently, the term has been used to describe entities that bring questionable claims against companies in the fashion industry over purported copyrights in fabric patterns.

[8] In 2021, the term was coined by a Belgian judge in reference to Permission Machine, which later changed its name to Visual Rights Group.

[15] In August, 2010, the company entered an agreement with WEHCO Media in Arkansas to pursue similar actions, and announced that it was in negotiation with a number of other publishers.

[16] Wired magazine described the activity as "borrowing a page from the patent trolls", and noted that the company was demanding $75,000 from each infringer, and agreeing to settlements of several thousand dollars per defendant.

Righthaven was also sanctioned by at least one judge for failing to disclose that Stephens Media got a 50 percent cut of any lawsuit proceeds involving the Review-Journal.

Richard Liebowitz , a New York-based attorney, was called a copyright troll in several lawsuits and was met by various sanctions. [ 1 ]