LePage signs ‘patent trolls’ bill into law
It will become more difficult for so-called “patent trolls” to “harass and extort money” from Maine businesses after Gov. Paul LePage signed a new bill into law this week.
The new law, titled “An Act Regarding Bad Faith Assertions of Patent Infringement,” will help prohibit bad faith infringement threats perpetrated by patent trolls, according to a press release from the Maine Legislature Senate Majority Office.
The office said these type of infringement threats are perpetrated by patent trolls who claim their patent is being infringed upon by a business and then threaten legal action unless they are paid high licensing fees.
The Senate Majority office said bad faith infringement threats are defined as lacking “specificity in the alleged infringement, settlement demands or damage claims” and having “unreasonably short deadlines for payment of demanded monies.”
Modeled after Vermont legislation, the new law will allow victims of bad faith suits and the Attorney General to take action against patent trolls. Before being signed into law, the bill was sponsored by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Anne Haskell, D-Portland.
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