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