Patent Troll Law Firm Accused Of Shakedown Scheme

A Chicago law firm that only existed for a couple of years – but made millions for its principals – was nothing more than an elaborate patent troll scheme, suing hundreds of thousands of internet users. The firm, Prenda Law, served a clientele of shell companies that owned copyrights on porn movies. Before it dissolved in 2013, Prenda tracked illegal downloads of the porn films, found the identities of the downloaders and sued them for $4,000 each. The Ninth Circuit Appeals Court concluded that Prenda was little more than a shakedown that took advantage of the court, and upheld a nearly $100,000 sanction, saying the firm and its affiliates had “engaged in abusive litigation, fraud on courts across the country and willful violation of court orders.”