U.S. Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) on March 11 sponsored legislation to impose sanctions on anyone in China determined to have stolen the intellectual property (IP) of American companies.
Specifically, the Combatting China’s Pilfering of Intellectual Property (CCP IP) Act, H.R. 7608, would impose layers of penalties on bad actors working to steal American IP, including financial sanctions on companies, government entities, and individuals, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Curtis’ staff.
“I have heard from numerous constituents that saw their IP stolen by China, frequently resulting in copycat products being sold on sites like Temu,” Rep. Curtis said. “The CCP IP Act directly punishes those who steal American IP and broadly puts pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to stop their intentional strategy of stealing from everyday Americans.”
Additionally, H.R. 7608 would impose broad visa bans on Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and government officials until China takes meaningful steps to stop IP theft.
For instance, such visa bans would include senior CCP officials from the Politburo, the Central Committee, and each delegate to the 19th National Congress of the CCP and their family members; members of the cabinet of the government; and active-duty members of the People’s Liberation Army, the summary says.
H.R. 7608 has been referred for consideration to both the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee and the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.