MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed into law a novel measure aimed at protecting companies from so-called patent trolling - the practice of making deceptive claims of patent infringement in the hopes of collecting licensing or settlement money.

The new law, believed to be the first in the nation, allows courts to consider if a claim is deceptive, specifies factors that can be considered as evidence, and provides for damages or relief to Vermont companies wrongly pressured into paying licensing fees or a settlement.

Jeffrey Lewis of the American Intellectual Property Law Association said the group knows of no other law like it. Law professor Eric Goldman of Santa Clara University said that while the law is novel, it's not clear states have the authority to regulate patent activity.

NORTH WEBSTER, Ind. (AP) - Northern Indiana authorities say about 50 middle and high school students were injured and a bus driver was seriously hurt in a chain-reaction crash involving four school buses.

Kosciusko (kahs-ee-AHS'-koh) County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Chad Hill says the crash about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday injured 55 people, including three of the four bus drivers. Most have gone to Kosciusko Community Hospital in Warsaw, where a spokeswoman says none are in serious or critical condition.

A nursing supervisor at IU Health Goshen Hospital says four students being treated there are in good condition.

One of the bus drivers was airlifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, about 40 miles east of the crash scene.

Hill says one bus apparently was stopped to let a student off when the accident occurred.

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - It's not unusual for a cat to get a hairball, but a 400-pound tiger needed help from veterinary surgeons in Florida when he couldn't hack up a basketball-size hairball by himself.

The 17-year-old tiger named Ty underwent the procedure Wednesday at a veterinary center in the Tampa Bay area community of Clearwater. Doctors said in a statement that they safely removed the 4-pound obstruction from Ty's stomach.

The tiger, which is cared for by Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Seminole, was brought to veterinarians after not eating for nearly two weeks. Doctors said they detected the hairball using a scope with a camera.

Vernon Yates, whose nonprofit group regularly assists law enforcement agencies with seized animals, says he's thankful the hairball was removed and Ty is doing fine.