Garth Brooks was an infamous troll for dropping infringement claims on just about anyone who sold his CDs who didn't purchase them from an authorized distributor.
Being such a small fish, however, I've never been targeted by much of a team of lawyers. I've had some slight brushes, especially when a particularly interesting disc comes across my desk. But for me to collect, as just an example, against one of these firms, I would likely have to borrow enough money to live on comfortably for the rest of my life to pay the lawyers, and live in limbo through the court case and appeals likely for close to 10 years.
Courts are not oriented towards finding truth; in my own situation, I've been lucky in that each judge has accepted a dismissal request based upon a 9th circuit ruling on the first sale doctrine. Under a ‘loser pays’ type system, I'm sure I'd never get another dismissal again; after all, I would cost that company money with that dismissal, and it would be hardly fair to take money without having a case heard...
If courts were limited to a small token amount that could be awarded directly, with anything above that amount requiring a rubber stamp approval from Congress, that in itself would wipe out most if not all the patent trolls (both large companies and small...)
I didn’t suggest loser pays. I suggested patent troll losers should pay.