Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2015
Latest action · Dec 16, 2016 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 688.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 28, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2015
(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and authorizes state attorneys general, to enforce against written communications (commonly referred to as demand letters) that represent in bad faith that the recipient bears liability or owes compensation for infringing an asserted patent. The pattern or practice of sending such bad faith demand letters shall be treated as an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
The bill sets forth the types of bad faith representations, assertions of legal action, claims of a sender holding an exclusive license, compensation requests, or omissions that are considered to be unfair or deceptive.
The bill provides an affirmative defense if the sender can show that statements, representations, or omissions were mistakes made in good faith, which may be demonstrated by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid any such error.
(Sec. 3) The bill provides the FTC with authority to enforce against violations.
(Sec. 4) The bill preempts state or local laws expressly relating to the transmission or contents of communications regarding the assertion of patent rights. But the bill shall not be contrued to limit any other state laws, including those relating to consumer protection, fraud, deception, trespass, contracts, or torts.
State attorneys general may bring civil actions in federal court to enjoin violations or obtain civil penalties for violations of this bill. The maximum civil penalty for which a person may be liable for a series of related violations is $5 million.
Cosponsors 7
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 28, 2015 to Nov 14, 2016; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-IL | Adam Kinzinger | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| R-MS | Gregg Harper | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| R-NJ | Leonard Lance | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| R-OK | Markwayne Mullin | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| R-LA | John Fleming | Aug 4, 2015 | |
| R-AL | Mo Brooks | Nov 14, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Apr 28, 2015Markup Apr 29, 2015Reported Dec 16, 2016 |
| Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee | Referred May 1, 2015 |
Actions 8
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 16, 2016Reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 114-877.
- Dec 16, 2016Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 688.
- May 1, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
- Apr 29, 2015Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Apr 29, 2015Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 30 - 22.
- Apr 28, 2015Introduced in House
- Apr 28, 2015Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Apr 28, 2015Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H5165 | Marcy Kaptur D-OH | Jul 14, 2015 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- May 29, 2015H.R. 2045, Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2015As ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 29, 2015
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 62, April 28, 2015, page H2498.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R44962 | Patent Law: A Primer and Overview of Emerging Issues Archived | Report | Sep 21, 2017 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 632 | STRONG Patents Act of 2015 | Related bill | Feb 25, 2016 |
| HR 6370 | Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2018 | Reintroduced Bill | Jul 13, 2018 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide that certain bad faith communications in connection with the assertion of a United States patent are unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2015
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Commerce.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 16, 2016Reported in House
- Apr 28, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
