The term patent troll was invented by someone working for IBM to describe firms they couldn't dominate purely by flexing their own absurd patents.

These trolls are waging asymmetric war. If they met IBM or Apple on their preferred battlefield (i.e. formed a company and made products, which is considered "the right thing to do") then they'd be wiped out instantly by superior firepower. So instead they fight the only way they can, forming terrorist cells or shell corporations that consist of two layers and a handful of patents (often with shadowy funding coming from larger players).

Note a further parallel. The term "asymmetric warfare" means to fight like a terrorist. What's the term for having a force so overwhelming that you get to order smaller companies/nations about? That situation seems just as asymmetric, and just as troublesome for the weaker companies/nations, yet it doesn't have a catchy term for us in the stronger countries to worry about.

Just to be clear, I don't think terrorism or patent trolling are noble pursuits or good for the planet, but I am saying that the conditions that lead to them can in basically all cases be laid at the feet of the big players and if you want to solve these problems, it's the big players you'd need to change.