How have courts dealt with allegations of malice against a patent holder who has been accused of threatening to destroy a competitor by threatening to sue for patent infringement?

Where a holder of a patent attempts to destroy a competitor by threats to bring infringement suits against its customers and such threats are made without the intention of bringing such suits, and where there is an opportunity to bring such suits without any attempt to evade the issue on the part of the alleged competitor, it has been held that a long delay in bringing the suit is such evidence of bad faith in the campaign of intimidation as justifies a finding of malice and an award of damages for past misconduct and an injunction as to future threats and intimidation. Art Metal Works v. Abraham & Straus, supra.