Bill > S159

This bill aims to protect innovation and entrepreneurship in the Commonwealth by prohibiting "bad faith assertions of patent infringement." The key provisions of the bill include: 1. Defining "assertion of patent infringement" as sending demand letters, threatening litigation, or making claims that a target has infringed a patent or should obtain a license to avoid litigation. 2. Establishing factors that a court can consider to determine if an assertion of patent infringement was made in "bad faith," such as the demand letter lacking key information, the person failing to conduct a proper analysis before making the assertion, or the assertion being meritless. 3. Allowing targets of bad faith patent infringement assertions and other aggrieved parties to bring civil actions in the Superior Court, with the potential for the court to award equitable relief, damages, costs, fees, and exemplary damages. 4. Granting the Attorney General the authority to make rules, conduct investigations, bring civil actions, and enter into assurances of discontinuance under this law. 5. Establishing that any person who directly or indirectly arranged for or caused the bad faith assertion of patent infringement can be held jointly and severally liable with the person making the assertion. The overall goal of the bill is to discourage the use of bad faith patent infringement assertions, which can be burdensome and harmful to innovation and entrepreneurship in the Commonwealth.

Labor and Employment

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/S159