Texas Business and Commerce Code 17.952 – Bad Faith Claim of Patent Infringement Prohibited
(a) A person may not send to an end user located or doing business in this state a written or electronic communication that is a bad faith claim of patent infringement.
(b) A communication is a bad faith claim of patent infringement if the communication includes a claim that the end user or a person affiliated with the end user has infringed a patent and is liable for that infringement and:
(1) the communication falsely states that the sender has filed a lawsuit in connection with the claim;
(2) the claim is objectively baseless because:
(A) the sender or a person the sender represents does not have a current right to license the patent to or enforce the patent against the end user;
(B) the patent has been held invalid or unenforceable in a final judgment or administrative decision; or
(C) the infringing activity alleged in the communication occurred after the patent expired; or
(3) the communication is likely to materially mislead a reasonable end user because the communication does not contain information sufficient to inform the end user of:
(A) the identity of the person asserting the claim;
(B) the patent that is alleged to have been infringed; and
(C) at least one product, service, or technology obtained by the end user that is alleged to infringe the patent or the activity of the end user that is alleged to infringe the patent.
Terms Used In Texas Business and Commerce Code 17.952
- Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005