Sentence:  According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from <WSD>companies</WSD> they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Any business, whether incorporated or not, that manufactures or sells products (also known as goods), or provides services as a commercial venture.