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<section article="gcl" article_name="Commercial Law" number="11-1603" title_number="11" title_name="Trade Regulation" subtitle_number="16" subtitle_name="Bad Faith Assertions of Patent Infringement">
  <level label="a">
    <text>A person may not make an assertion of patent infringement against another in bad faith.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A court may consider the following factors as evidence that a person has made an assertion of patent infringement in bad faith:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The demand letter sent by the person does not contain:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>The alleged patent number;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>The name and address of the patent owner or assignee, if any; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="3">
          <text>Facts relating to the specific areas in which the target’s product, service, or technology infringes the patent or is covered by the claims in the patent;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The target requested the information described in item (i) of this paragraph, and the person failed to provide the information within a reasonable period of time;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Before sending the demand letter, the person did not conduct an analysis comparing the claims in the patent to the target’s product, service, or technology, or the analysis was conducted but does not identify specific areas in which the product, service, or technology is covered by the claims in the patent;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>The demand letter demanded a response or payment of a licensing fee within an unreasonably short period of time;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>The person offered to license the patent for an amount that is not based on a reasonable estimate of the value of the license;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>The assertion of patent infringement is without merit, and the person knew, or should have known, that the assertion is without merit;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>The assertion of patent infringement is deceptive;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="viii">
        <level label="1">
          <text>The person, or a subsidiary or an affiliate of the person, previously has filed or threatened to file one or more lawsuits based on the same or a similar assertion of patent infringement; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <level label="A">
            <text>The threats or lawsuits did not provide the information described in item (i) of this paragraph; and</text>
          </level>
        </level>
        <level label="B">
          <text>A court found the person’s assertion to be without merit; and</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ix">
        <text>Any other factor the court determines to be relevant.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The court may consider the following factors as evidence that a person has made an assertion of patent infringement in good faith:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>If the demand letter sent by the person does not contain the information described in paragraph (1)(i) of this subsection, the person provides the information to the target within a reasonable period of time;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The person has:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>Engaged in a good faith effort to establish that the target has infringed the patent; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Attempted to negotiate an appropriate remedy;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The person has:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>Demonstrated good faith business practices in previous efforts to enforce a patent; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Successfully enforced a patent through litigation;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>The person has made a substantial investment in the use of the patent or in the production or sale of a product covered by the patent;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>The person is:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>An inventor of the patent or an original assignee; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>A representative of an institution of higher education or a technology transfer organization affiliated with an institution of higher education; and</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>Any other factor the court determines to be relevant.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
