Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2019
Bill journey · stage 2 of 5
Under committee review
What it doesSummary introduced in house (Jan 3, 2019)
Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2019
This bill prohibits sending bad faith patent demand letters.
A patent demand letter is a written communication claiming that the recipient may be liable for patent infringement. Bad faith means making knowingly false or misleading statements, making claims with reckless disregard for the truth, or omitting information with the intent to deceive.
Bad faith representations include false or misleading claims about the sender's right to assert a patent and whether lawsuits have been filed. It also includes making written demands for compensation for invalid patents, or to demand compensation without identifying the ultimate parent entity of the letter sender.
The sender shall have an affirmative defense that it acted in good faith, by proving its misstatements or omissions were unintentional and it made an error in spite of procedures to avoid such errors.
The bill preempts state laws relating to patent assertion communications. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general may bring actions to enforce these provisions.
What just happenedJan 25, 2019
Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
Who’s behind it
- Introduced in HouseJan 3, 2019
- Jan 25, 2019Committee
Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee - Jan 3, 2019IntroReferralH11100
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Energy and Commerce Committee - Jan 3, 2019IntroReferralIntro-H
Introduced in House
- Jan 3, 2019IntroReferral1000
Introduced in House