40-1-112, except that under subsection (b) hereof the registrant

40-1-112, except that under subsection (b) hereof the registrant shall not be entitled to recover profits or damages unless the acts have been committed with knowledge that such mark is intended to be used to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive.

40-1-112. Remedies.

(a) Any owner of a mark registered under this act may proceed by suit to enjoin the manufacture, use, display or sale of any counterfeits or imitations thereof and any court of competent jurisdiction may grant injunctions to restrain such manufacture, use, display, or sale as may be by the said court deemed just and reasonable, and may require the defendants to pay to such owner all profits derived from and/or all damages suffered by reason of such wrongful manufacture, use, display or sale; and such court may also order that any such counterfeits or imitations in the possession or under the control of any defendant in such case, be delivered to an officer of the court, or to the complainant, to be destroyed. The court, in its discretion, may enter judgment for an amount not to exceed three (3) times such profits and damages and reasonable attorneys' fees of the prevailing party in such cases where the court finds the other party committed such wrongful acts with knowledge or in bad faith or otherwise as according to the circumstances of the case.

(b) The enumeration of any right or remedy herein shall not affect a registrant's right to prosecute under any penal law of this state.

40-1-113. Marks acquired at common law. Nothing in this act shall adversely affect the rights or the enforcement of rights in marks acquired in good faith at any time at common law.

40-1-114. Inapplicable to livestock brands, marks or tags.

This act shall not be construed to apply to brands, marks or tags on livestock.

40-1-115. Injury to business reputation; dilution.

(a) The owner of a mark which is famous in this state shall be entitled, subject to the principles of equity, to an injunction against another's use of a mark, commencing after the owner's mark becomes famous, which causes dilution of the distinctive quality of the owner's mark, and to obtain such other relief as is provided in this section. In determining whether a mark is famous, a court may consider factors such as, but not limited to:

(i) The degree of inherent or acquired distinctiveness of the mark in this state;

(ii) The duration and extent of use of the mark in connection with the goods and services;

(iii) The duration and extent of advertising and publicity of the mark in this state;

(iv) The geographical extent of the trading area in which the mark is used;

(v) The channels of trade for the goods or services with which the owner's mark is used;

(vi) The degree of recognition of the owner's mark in its and in the other's trading areas and channels of trade in this state; and

(vii) The nature and extent of use of the same or similar mark by third parties.

(b) The owner shall be entitled only to injunctive relief in this state in an action brought under this section, unless the subsequent user willfully intended to trade on the owner's reputation or to cause dilution of the owner's mark. If such willful intent is proven, the owner shall also be entitled to the remedies set forth in this act, subject to the discretion of the court and the principles of equity.

40-1-116. Powers of secretary of state; filing and other fees.

(a) The secretary has the power reasonably necessary to perform the duties required of him by this act including the promulgation of rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this act.

(b) The secretary shall set and collect filing, service and copying fees to recover the costs of providing those services and administering this act. Fees shall not exceed the costs of providing these services and administering this act.

ARTICLE 2 - BAD FAITH ASSERTION OF PATENT INFRINGEMENT

40-1-201. Definitions.

(a) As used in this article:

(i) "Demand letter" means a letter, email or other communication asserting or claiming that the target engaged in patent infringement;

(ii) "Target" means a person that:

(A) Receives a demand letter or other allegation of patent infringement;

(B) Is threatened with or has a lawsuit filed against the person that alleges patent infringement; or

(C) Conducts business with a customer who receives a demand letter asserting that the person's product, service or technology infringes a patent.

40-1-202. Bad faith assertion of patent infringement; prohibited; factors to determine bad faith.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, no person shall make a bad faith assertion of patent infringement as provided in this section.  (b) A court may consider any of the following factors as evidence that a person made a bad faith assertion of patent infringement:

(i) The person issued a demand letter which did not include one (1) or more of the following:

(A) The patent number;

(B) The name and address of the patent owner and assignee, if any;

(C) Specific factual allegations describing the target's product, service or technology that infringes the patent or is otherwise covered by the patent.

(ii) The person did not conduct an analysis comparing the patent to the product, service or technology of the target prior to sending the demand letter or, if an analysis was conducted, the analysis did not identify the specific area that the product, service or technology of the target infringes the patent or is otherwise covered by the patent;

(iii) If a demand letter does not contain all of the information provided in paragraph (i) of this subsection and the target requests the missing information, the person fails to provide the missing information within thirty (30) days;

(iv) The demand letter requires a response or payment of a license fee within a specified time that is less than thirty (30) days;

(v) The person knew or should have known that the claim of patent infringement is unenforceable;

(vi) The claim of patent infringement is deceptive;

(vii) The person making the assertion of patent infringement does not own or have the right to enforce or license the patent;

(viii) The person sent the same or substantially similar demand letter to multiple recipients and made assertions against a variety of products, services or technologies without addressing product, service or technology differences in a reasonable manner;  (ix) The person made a threat of legal action that the person knows or should have known cannot be legally taken or is not intended to be taken;

(x) The person falsely represents in a demand letter that a complaint has been filed with a court alleging patent infringement;

(xi) The claim of patent infringement is based on a patent that has expired or has previously been held invalid or unenforceable in a final unappealable or unappealed judicial or administrative decision;

(xii) Any other factor the court finds relevant.

(c) A court may consider any of the following factors as evidence that a person has not made a bad faith assertion of patent infringement:

(i) The demand letter includes all of the information specified in paragraph (b)(i) of this section;

(ii) If a demand letter does not contain all of the information provided in paragraph (b)(i) of this section and the target requests the missing information, the person provides the missing information within thirty (30) days;

(iii) The person engages in a good faith effort to establish that the target has infringed the patent and to negotiate an appropriate remedy;

(iv) The person has made a substantial investment in the use of the patent or in the production or sale of a product, service or technology covered by the patent;

(v) The person is the inventor or joint inventor of the patent or, if the patent is filed by and awarded to an assignee of the original inventor or joint inventor, is the original assignee of the patent;

(vi) The person has successfully enforced the patent or a substantially similar patent through litigation or has demonstrated good faith business practices in previous efforts to enforce the patent.

40-1-203. Private right of action.  (a) A target or other person aggrieved by a bad faith assertion of patent infringement in violation of this article may bring an action in a court of proper jurisdiction. A court may award any of the following remedies to a plaintiff prevailing in an action brought pursuant to this section:

(i) Equitable relief;

(ii) Damages;

(iii) Costs and fees, including reasonable attorney fees;

(iv) Exemplary damages in an amount equal to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) or three (3) times the total of damages, costs and fees, whichever is greater.

40-1-204. Enforcement.

(a) The attorney general may enforce the provisions of this article and investigate violations of this article.

(b) The attorney general or any district attorney may on behalf of the state bring an action for temporary or permanent injunctive or other relief in any court of competent jurisdiction for any violation of this article. The court may, upon entry of final judgment finding a violation of this article, award restitution when appropriate to any person suffering loss because of a violation of this article if proof of the loss is submitted to the satisfaction of the court.

40-1-205. Exceptions.

(a) The provisions of this article shall not apply to:

(i) A person that owns or has the right to license or enforce a patent if the person is:

(A) Notifying another of the ownership right or enforcement right in the patent;

(B) Notifying another that the patent is available for license or sale;

(C) Notifying another of the infringement of the patent pursuant to title 35 of the United States Code or section 262 of title 42 of the United States Code; or  (D) Seeking compensation from another person for a past or present infringement of a patent, or for a license, if it is reasonable to believe that the person owes the compensation.

(ii) A demand letter sent by:

(A) An owner of the patent that is using the patent in connection with substantial research, commercial development, production, manufacturing, processing or delivery of products or materials; or

(B) Any institution of higher education or any technology transfer organization whose primary purpose is to facilitate the commercialization of technology developed by an institution of higher education.

CHAPTER 2 - TRADE NAMES REGISTRATION

40-2-101. Definitions.

(a) As used in this act unless the context otherwise requires:

(i) "Applicant" means a person filing an application for registration or reservation of a trade name under this act, his legal representatives, successors or assigns;

(ii) "Person" means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, unincorporated association, two (2) or more of the foregoing having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity;

(iii) "Registrant" means a person to whom registration of a trade name under this act is issued, his legal representatives, successors or assigns;

(iv) "Trade name" means a word, name, or any combination of the foregoing in any form or arrangement used by a person to identify his business, vocation, or occupation and distinguish it from the business, vocation or occupation of others;

(v) "This act" means W.S. 40-2-101 through 40-2-111.  40-2-102. Registrability.

(a) A trade name shall not be registered if it:

(i) Is the same as, or deceptively similar to, a trademark or service mark registered in this state, or is not distinguishable from the names of other business entities as required by W.S. 17-16-401;

(ii) Contains any word or phrase which indicates that it is engaged in the business of banking or insurance, except as provided in subsections (b) through (d) of this section.

(b) National banking associations previously approved by the comptroller of the currency, whose principal place of business is located within the state of Wyoming and who are actively engaged in the business of banking on the effective date of this act may be registered with the Wyoming secretary of state and entitled to all of the protection of other registered trade names.

(c) Any person desiring to register a bank trade name for any proposed national banking association shall comply with the provisions of this act. The secretary of state shall conditionally approve the proposed trade name if not the same as or deceptively similar to any trade name registered under this act, a trademark or service mark registered in this state or the name of a corporation incorporated or authorized to do business in this state, or which is exclusively reserved under W.S.