Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 098-1119
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Public Act 098-1119


 

Public Act 1119 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
Public Act 098-1119
 
SB3405 EnrolledLRB098 19175 JLS 54327 b

    AN ACT concerning business.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2RRR as follows:
 
    (815 ILCS 505/2RRR new)
    Sec. 2RRR. Unfair or deceptive patent infringement demand
letters.
    (a) As used in this Section:
    "Affiliated person" means a person affiliated with the
intended recipient of a written or electronic communication.
    "Intended recipient" means a person who purchases, rents,
leases, or otherwise obtains a product or service in the
commercial market that is not for resale in the commercial
market and that is, or later becomes, the subject of a patent
infringement allegation.
    (b) It is an unlawful practice under this Act for a person,
in connection with the assertion of a United States patent, to
send or cause any person to send any written, including
electronic, communication that states that the intended
recipient or any affiliated person is infringing or has
infringed a patent and bears liability or owes compensation to
another person, if:
        (1) the communication falsely threatens that
    administrative or judicial relief will be sought if
    compensation is not paid or the infringement issue is not
    otherwise resolved;
        (2) the communication falsely states that litigation
    has been filed against the intended recipient or any
    affiliated person;
        (3) the assertions contained in the communication lack
    a reasonable basis in fact or law because:
            (A) the person asserting the patent is not a
        person, or does not represent a person, with the
        current right to license the patent to or enforce the
        patent against the intended recipient or any
        affiliated person;
            (B) the communication seeks compensation for a
        patent that has been held to be invalid or
        unenforceable in a final, unappealable or unappealed,
        judicial or administrative decision; or
            (C) the communication seeks compensation on
        account of activities undertaken after the patent has
        expired; or
        (4) the content of the communication fails to include
    information necessary to inform an intended recipient or
    any affiliated person about the patent assertion by failing
    to include the following:
            (A) the identity of the person asserting a right to
        license the patent to or enforce the patent against the
        intended recipient or any affiliated person;
            (B) the patent issued by the United States Patent
        and Trademark Office alleged to have been infringed;
        and
            (C) the factual allegations concerning the
        specific areas in which the intended recipient's or
        affiliated person's products, services, or technology
        infringed the patent or are covered by the claims in
        the patent.
    (c) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to deem it
an unlawful practice for any person who owns or has the right
to license or enforce a patent to:
        (1) advise others of that ownership or right of license
    or enforcement;
        (2) communicate to others that the patent is available
    for license or sale;
        (3) notify another of the infringement of the patent;
    or
        (4) seek compensation on account of past or present
    infringement or for a license to the patent.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2015.

Effective Date: 1/1/2015