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Missouri governor signs patent troll bill into law

The state is one of 20 that have now passed or have pending legislation to address the abuse of patent litigation by non-practicing entities.

July 17, 2014

Another state has taken action to curb spurious lawsuits brought by patent trolls. On July 8, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed into law Senate Bill 706, which prohibits bad faith assertions of patent infringement to combat so-called “patent trolls” that prey on Missouri businesses and individuals.

Following is a summary of the bill in its final form:

This act prohibits bad faith assertions of patent infringement. This act creates a seven-factor test that a court shall consider when determining if a person has made a bad faith assertion of patent infringement. Additionally, this act creates a seven factor test that the court shall consider as evidence that a person has not made a bad faith assertion of patent infringement.

If a person believes that they have been a target of a bad faith assertion of patent infringement upon receiving a demand letter, the person shall have a private right to a cause of action as set forth in this act. Upon a finding by a court that a person has made a bad faith assertion of patent infringement, the court allow the target to recover certain damages as set forth in this act.

This act allows the Attorney General to investigate, restrain, and prosecute bad faith assertions of patent infringement claims. Any monetary awards recovered by the Attorney General shall be credited to the Antitrust Revolving Fund for the payments of expenses incurred by the Attorney General in the course of investigation, prosecution, or enforcement of such patent infringement claims.

The bill is similar to a number of others that have been passed by states in recent months. According to opensource.com, 20 states have now passed or have pending legislation addressing the abuse of patent litigation by non-practicing entities.