EFF is representing Jason Cugle and his company Triple7Vaping.com LLC against claims that running a small mail-order business selling accessories for electronic cigarettes infringes four patents owned by Shipping & Transit LLC. Cugle, a Maryland resident, received a letter from Shipping & Transit accusing his company and website of violating patents relating to ideas for monitoring and reporting the status of delivery vehicles.

Shipping & Transit is a serial patent troll, filing over 500 lawsuits alleging patent infringement and trying to intimidate people with letters and documents demanding money. The company claims its patents cover a variety of methods of notifying people when a vehicle is about to reach its destination—and applies to Cugle’s emailing his customers U.S. Postal Service numbers so they can track the status of their shipments.

EFF’s lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeks a court order confirming that Cugle and his company don’t infringe the patents and, in any event, the patents are invalid. Cugle and his company also seek a finding that, in sending the demand letter with what seems to be little to no investigation of Cugle’s business, Shipping & Transit violated Maryland law.