We don't feed patent trolls. We fight them.

$40 million.

That's what a jury said Shopify owed Express Mobile—one of America's most prolific patent trolls. Their meritless claim said we'd infringed web-design patents that were so absurdly broad they could cover virtually any website. Most companies would have written a check to avoid litigation in the first place. A quick settlement is often easier than years of litigation—even when the claim has no basis—and that's what trolls count on. Pay the toll, fund the troll, move on.

But we don't pay troll tolls.

This is a decision we made years ago: we’ll invest more effort fighting a frivolous claim than it would ever take to settle one. Not because we love litigation (okay, maybe we love it just a little), but because trolls frequently target entrepreneurs and small businesses that can't afford to fight. So we do.

Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirmed the trial court judge’s decision to wipe out the $40 million verdict entirely. Express Mobile walked away with nothing. Not a reduced settlement, not a licensing deal. Nothing. In fact, Express Mobile paid us money.

The U.S. Federal Circuit just threw out a $40M verdict from serial patent troll, Express Mobile. They wanted a quick settlement.
We gave them a fight, and won. pic.twitter.com/TtUSauMEdY

— Jessica Hertz (@jessicarhertz) December 8, 2025

For more than three years, we’ve pursued aggressive litigation, demanded transparency about who funds these parasitic operations, and fought every meritless claim to the end. Express Mobile is just one example—but this is a fight we wage every day, no matter the size of the claim. We promised we wouldn't be bullied into settlements that only fund the next shakedown. And our strategy is paying off.

Anatomy of a patent troll

Patent trolls—the kind that lurk in the legal system, not under bridges—don't build anything. They don't invent anything. They don't even practice the patents they purchase from the clearance bin and wield like weapons. They just wait for others to build something, then emerge from the shadows with a meritless claim and an outstretched hand. Many refer to them as non-practicing entities (NPEs).

Their entire business model amounts to legal extortion: weaponizing the court system to extract settlements from people who are building, creating jobs, and powering our global economy. They target small and growing businesses who don’t want to waste time or can’t afford to fight back. Trolls are the railroad bandits of the innovation economy.

Our December victory against Express Mobile was hard earned. Rather than waiting to be sued, we went on offense. We filed a declaratory judgment action, and a jury initially awarded them $40 million. We won on post-trial motions. They appealed. We won again. The whole process took years and was an investment on our part. But the trolls walked away with nothing. And we'd do it again tomorrow.

Why? Because Express Mobile isn't the only bad actor here. The troll ecosystem is vast and well-funded. Puppeteers like Acacia Research, IP Edge, and Fortress Investment operate through maze-like webs of shell companies: PO boxes with no employees, no products, and no purpose except litigation. They hide their funders. We're dragging them, screeching and clawing, into the light.

Why we fight

Patent trolls are economically devastating. They drain an estimated $29 billion annually from American businesses in direct legal costs and $80 billion when factoring in stock market losses. Accounting for inflation, those numbers are probably closer to $40B and $115B today. Maybe more, considering district court filings from NPEs jumped nearly 22% in 2025 compared to 2024. That same report found that NPEs account for 55% of all patent litigation filings, and a whopping 90% of high-tech patent litigation.

Companies hit by trolls reduce R&D investment by more than 25% on average. That's innovation that never happens. Products that never ship. Jobs that never exist.

And the victims? Mostly small businesses. More than half of patent troll suits hit companies with less than $25 million in annual revenue. These are ambushes on entrepreneurs who aren’t equipped to defend themselves. Trolls exploit this asymmetry. They know most targets will calculate the math: $50,000 settlement versus millions in legal fees. The rational choice is to pay the troll toll. So the vast majority of cases settle or get abandoned before ever reaching judgment. The trolls win without having to try.

We don’t play in that arena. We will spend more to fight a $50,000 demand than it would cost to settle. Since we started fighting back, fewer entities sue us. The ones who do regret it. One troll recently showed up with a fully drafted complaint, ready to file. Our counsel explained what happens when you come after Shopify. They walked away. They've since sued dozens of others, but not us.

This is our rebellion against the freeloaders siphoning money from productive innovators. These trolls are bad for commerce, and we’re building for the long term. Every troll we beat makes the next one think twice. Every troll we don’t pay means less money in their coffers to target others. We’re starving them out.

What's next

In 2026, you can expect us to pay exactly zero dollars to patent trolls.

We'll continue to litigate against baseless claims aggressively—not just defending cases, but filing motions to expose the hidden funders behind these shell companies. We'll keep building the public record so other companies can copy our playbook. We'll continue supporting organizations like Unified Patents and the LOT Network that fight this battle daily. And we'll advocate for legislative reforms that make the troll business model untenable.

To the entrepreneurs reading this: we see you. We know a single meritless lawsuit can kill a young company. That's why we fight, not just for Shopify, but for the entire ecosystem of builders who deserve to create without fear.

To the trolls: find a new day job. We won't settle. We won't stay quiet. Come after us and you'll spend years in litigation, burn through your funders' money, and leave with nothing but a public record of your defeat.

Builders build. Trolls destroy. But in our experience, builders always win in the end.

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Jean Niehaus is General Counsel at Shopify.