[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2566 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2566

  To reauthorize certain provisions of the Prioritizing Resources and 
  Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, to create a new 
grant program to fund legal aid programs to assist small businesses to 
         protect intellectual property, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 27, 2023

Ms. Baldwin (for herself and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reauthorize certain provisions of the Prioritizing Resources and 
  Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, to create a new 
grant program to fund legal aid programs to assist small businesses to 
         protect intellectual property, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American IP Defense and Enforcement 
Advancement Act'' or the ``American IDEA Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.

    The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual 
Property Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-403; 122 Stat. 4265) is amended--
            (1) in section 3 (15 U.S.C. 8101)--
                    (A) in the section heading, by striking 
                ``definition'' and inserting ``definitions'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) 
                as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and 
                adjusting the margins accordingly;
                    (C) by moving the undesignated matter following 
                subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated) 2 ems to the 
                right;
                    (D) in the undesignated matter following 
                subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated), by striking 
                ``paragraph (1), (2), or (3)'' and inserting 
                ``subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)'';
                    (E) by striking ``In this Act, the term `United 
                States person' means--'' and inserting the following: 
                ``In this Act:
            ``(1) Priority watch list country.--The term `priority 
        watch list country' means a country on the priority watch list 
        (as defined in section 182(g)(3) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
        U.S.C. 2242(g)(3)) (commonly known as the `Special 301 Priority 
        Watch List').
            ``(2) United states person.--The term `United States 
        person' means--''; and
                    (F) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Watch list country.--The term `watch list country'--
                    ``(A) means a country identified by the United 
                States Trade Representative pursuant to section 182(a) 
                of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2242(a)); and
                    ``(B) includes a priority watch list country.'';
            (2) in section 303(a) (15 U.S.C. 8113(a))--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph 
                (7); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
            ``(6) Preventing unlawful taking or use of intellectual 
        property from corporations and universities located in the 
        United States, particularly by entities or individuals located 
        in a priority watch list country.'';
            (3) in section 304(b) (15 U.S.C. 8114(b)), by adding at the 
        end the following:
            ``(12) Strategies to prevent unlawful taking or use of 
        intellectual property by entities or individuals located in 
        priority watch list countries.'';
            (4) in section 401(b) (34 U.S.C. 30103(b))--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ```IP-TIC grants''' and inserting 
                ```Intellectual Property Enforcement Program grants' or 
                `IPEP grants''';
                    (B) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in the heading, by striking ``IP-TIC'' 
                        and inserting ``Intellectual property 
                        enforcement program'';
                            (ii) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by striking ``IP-TIC'' and inserting 
                        ``IPEP''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) Facilitate coordination between State and 
                local law enforcement officers and prosecutors and 
                Federal law enforcement agencies in the enforcement of 
                Federal criminal intellectual property laws.'';
                    (C) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by striking ``IP-TIC'' and inserting 
                        ``IPEP''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``(42 
                        U.S.C. 3750 et seq.)'' and inserting ``(34 
                        U.S.C. 10151 et seq.)'';
                    (D) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(3) Matching funds.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Federal share of an IPEP 
                grant may not exceed--
                            ``(i) except as provided in clause (ii), 50 
                        percent of the costs of the program or proposal 
                        funded by the IPEP grant; or
                            ``(ii) 60 percent of the costs of the 
                        program or proposal funded by the IPEP grant in 
                        the case of a program or proposal that includes 
                        a focus on investigating and prosecuting 
                        intellectual property violations that involve--
                                    ``(I) individuals or entities 
                                located in a watch list country;
                                    ``(II) individuals or entities 
                                operating under the direction or 
                                influence of individuals or entities 
                                located in a watch list country; or
                                    ``(III) the import of products or 
                                components from a watch list country.
                    ``(B) Other violations.--The recipient of an IPEP 
                grant with a Federal share described in subparagraph 
                (A)(ii) may use the grant to investigate or prosecute 
                an intellectual property violation that involves 
                individuals, entities, products, or components not 
                described in subclause (I), (II), or (III) (as 
                applicable) of that subparagraph if the recipient 
                discovered the intellectual property violation during 
                the course of investigating or prosecuting an 
                intellectual property violation that involves an 
                individual, entity, product, or component described in 
                one of those subclauses.''; and
                    (E) in paragraph (4)(A), by inserting ``and 2024 
                through 2029'' after ``2009 through 2013''; and
            (5) in section 402(a)(4)(A) (34 U.S.C. 30104(a)(4)(A)), by 
        inserting ``, including crimes perpetrated by entities located 
        in priority watch list countries'' after ``intellectual 
        property crimes''.

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY ON PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF 
              MANUFACTURERS FROM PRIORITY WATCH LIST COUNTRIES.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
study how the Federal Government could better protect the intellectual 
property of manufacturers from priority watch list countries, as 
defined in section 3 of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for 
Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 8101) (as amended by 
section 2).
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress 
a report on the results of the study required under subsection (a).

SEC. 4. GAO STUDY ON DIPLOMATIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
              ENFORCEMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING FOR WATCH LIST 
              COUNTRIES.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
study whether the Federal Government could use diplomatic and trade 
channels to--
            (1) improve the capacity of a watch list country, as 
        defined in section 3 of the Prioritizing Resources and 
        Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 
        8101) (as amended by section 2), to adequately and effectively 
        protect the intellectual property rights of individuals, 
        universities, and entities located in a watch list country or 
        in the United States; and
            (2) recover from a priority watch list country, as defined 
        in section 3 of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for 
        Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 8101) (as amended 
        by section 2), any unrecouped financial losses suffered by 
        individuals, universities, and entities located primarily in 
        the United States resulting from the unlawful use of 
        intellectual property by a priority watch list country or an 
        individual or entity operating under the direction or influence 
        of the priority watch list country, if the losses were suffered 
        due to a denial of adequate and effective protection of 
        intellectual property rights by the priority watch list 
        country.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress 
a report on the results of the study required under subsection (a).

SEC. 5. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION LEGAL AID.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a law school that is accredited by the American 
                Bar Association;
                    (B) the bar association of a State;
                    (C) a legal services organization; or
                    (D) a nonprofit organization or State agency, in 
                partnership with an entity described in subparagraph 
                (A), (B), or (C).
            (2) Low-revenue small business.--The term ``low-revenue 
        small business'' means a small business with an estimated 
        annual revenue of not more than $150,000.
            (3) Small business.--The term ``small business'' means a 
        small business concern, as that term is defined in section 3 of 
        the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means a State, the District 
        of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory 
        or possession of the United States.
    (b) Grant Program.--From amounts made available to carry out this 
section, the Attorney General shall make grants to eligible entities to 
fund--
            (1) legal aid programs to provide no-cost or low-cost legal 
        advice and services to low-revenue small businesses relating to 
        the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights; 
        and
            (2) the development and delivery of training programs and 
        materials for small businesses relating to the protection and 
        enforcement of intellectual property rights.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
                                 <all>