ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Patent troll

A patent troll is a person or company that buys patents, but instead of using them to make products or services, they use them to try to get money from somebody else. For example, they might say to a company, “You need to pay us money or we will sue you for using our patent.” They don’t actually make anything themselves—they just try to use their patents to get money from other companies.