Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., introduced the Transparency in...

5 of the FTC Act to protect small businesses, end-users and others against deceptive demand letters. McCaskill’s bill would give the FTC further authority on demand letters, allowing the agency to create and enforce demand letter rules, including requiring disclosure about the identity of the owners of the enforced patent, the patent claims in question, how a proposed settlement was calculated and information on past litigation involving the patent. The bill would also allow the FTC to regulate unfair and deceptive assertions included in a demand letter, and would require the commission to increase public awareness about “unfair and deceptive patent assertions.” The bill would exempt disclosure of existing licensing agreements and other information the FTC determines “is not necessary for the protection of consumers.” The bill would also allow state attorneys general to take action in federal courts against an entity that violates the bill’s rules (http://1.usa.gov/1mIvoNQ). McCaskill, who leads the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee, said in a subcommittee hearing in November that she was exploring a bill targeting demand letters that would specifically address “end users and consumer protection” (CD Nov 8 p13). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said in a statement that he’s co-sponsoring the bill because it “cracks down on the commercial practice of mailing hundreds, if not thousands, of misleading letters that seek to extort money from small businesses. The bill isn’t about patent law or patent rights; it’s simply about protecting unsuspecting victims from bad actors and their despicable behavior."