Civil and Criminal Penalties Possible for the Unwary Sender of Patent Demand Letters

On April 23, 2014, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed Wisconsin Senate Bill 498 which regulates the content of letters seeking to enforce patent rights and also provides for potentially stiff penalties for those that do not comply with the new law. Senate Bill 498 is enacted as 2013 Wisconsin Act 339, which was published on April 24, 2014. Therefore, 2013 Wisconsin Act 339 became effective on April 25, 2014. See Wisconsin Statutes Section 991.11. Thus, patent demand letters received as of April 25, 2014 must comply with the new law.

The specific details of the new law can be found in the authors' April 1, 2014 article discussing Wisconsin Senate Bill 498.

The text of the law is accessible at Wisconsin Legislature.