> So, I buy tons of IP from companies and individuals willing to sell them - the more generic, the better. I then troll around looking for companies that make products that might fit some of the patents I just bought.

That fits my understanding of patent trolls' behavior. What I still don't understand is, why is this seen as worse than e.g. a streaming service like Funimation/Sony buying up exclusive rights to anime that other entities have created, and then Funimation/Sony sues other website that continue to stream those videos?

My best guess is that because the USPTO has issued patents that seem unjustifiably broad/vague, it's harder to be certain that you're not violating some patent, than to be sure that you're not violating someone's copyright. But if that's really the reason, it still seems to me like the real villain here is the USPTO / U.S. Congress. Because (to my current way of thinking), they created the business landscape that rewards this kind of behavior.