(a) A court may consider the following factors as evidence that a person has made an assertion of patent infringement in bad faith:
(1) The person distributed a demand letter that does not contain all the following information:
- (A) The patent number of the patent that the person claims is being infringed.
(B) The name and address of:
- (i) a patent owner;
- (ii) if applicable, any assignee of the patent; and
- (iii) if applicable, a patent owner's or assignee's agent who is retained by the patent owner or assignee to enforce the patent.
- (C) Factual allegations identifying specific areas in which the target's products, services, and technology infringe the patent or are covered by the claims in the patent.
(2) The person fails to:
- (A) conduct an analysis comparing the claims in the patent to the target's products, services, and technology; or
- (B) identify, if the person conducts an analysis described in clause (A), specific areas in which the target's products, services, and technology are covered by the claims in the patent.
- (3) If the demand letter does not contain the information described in subdivision (1), the person that distributed the demand letter fails to provide the information within a reasonable amount of time after the target requests the information.
(4) The person demands:
- (A) payment of a license fee; or
(B) a response from the target;
within an unreasonably short period of time.
- (5) The person offers to license the patent for an amount that is not based on a reasonable estimate of the value of the license.
- (6) The claim or assertion of patent infringement is meritless, and the person knew, or should have known, that the claim or assertion is meritless.
- (7) The claim or assertion of patent infringement is deceptive.
(8) The person or the person's subsidiaries or affiliates have previously filed or threatened to file a lawsuit based on the same or similar claim of patent infringement and the:
- (A) filing or threats to file lacked the information described in subdivision (1); or
- (B) person attempted to enforce the claim of patent infringement in litigation and a court found the claim to be meritless.
- (9) Any other factor the court finds relevant.
- (b) A person may not use the failure of a target to request any information described in subsection (a)(1) that is not contained in the demand letter as a defense to an action under this article.
As added by P.L.172-2015, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.149-2016, SEC.73.