Legislation sponsored on Jan. 30 by U.S. Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) aims to bolster economic and diplomatic pressure on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to cease its theft of protected American technologies.
The Combating China’s Pilfering of Intellectual Property Act, S. 330, also known as the CCP IP Act, would impose sanctions on Chinese individuals, companies, and organizations engaged in a pattern of stealing IP from the United States.
“Utah is a major hub of entrepreneurship and innovation and too many of our businesses have seen their intellectual property stolen by Chinese entities — frequently resulting in copycat products sold on sites like Temu,” Sen. Curtis said. “This legislation directly punishes Chinese individuals, companies, and organizations who steal American IP and puts pressure on the CCP to stop its widespread trend of IP theft and replicating U.S. technologies.”
If enacted, S. 330 would impose sanctions on any person or entity determined to have engaged in a pattern of significant IP theft from a U.S. person or to have knowingly received stolen U.S. IP, according to a bill summary provided by the senator’s staff.
Additionally, the bill would impose broad visa and immigration restrictions on CCP and government officials until the Chinese government takes meaningful steps to stop IP theft.
For instance, U.S. visas would be denied to senior officials of the CCP and their spouses and children; members of China’s cabinet of government; and active-duty officers in the People’s Liberation Army, the summary says.
The bill — which is under consideration in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee — also would impose penalties on anyone who attempts or conspires to violate sanctions.
Sen. Curtis previously introduced a version of this legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to his staff.