Isn't it fairly trivial to get around this patent? Instead of 'one-click' to scan a document and email it, just scan the document to a file and then attach the file to an email.

Training employees to do this would cost less then $1000/employer that the patent holder is asking.

It certainly sounded that way from his careful description on the phone call:

"If you said you hooked it up to the Internet, and in one button, you can scan and e-mail directly out—yes, you have violated the patent that we own."

I don't believe you actually have to use a thing for the thing to be in violation of patent. Just having created the thing (connecting network to scanner with 1 click scan to email) is in violation of patent.

What I'm interested in is how they determine someone is one-click scanning to email. Do they just bulk mail to businesses and hope their targets use this system?

not patenting an action but a system. In this case, as the article specifies, the combination of a scanner, LAN, and application software that allows a user to one button send a scanned image to email. Yes these are patentable under current law.

Certain "processes" can be patented.