Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2015
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 688.
(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.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House without amendment" stage on December 16, 2016. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 16, 2016: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 688.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Michael Burgess (R-TX) introduced it on April 28, 2015, and 7 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 6 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 28, 2015, 4153 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3555 days ago, on December 16, 2016.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers