Bipartisan, bicameral legislation introduced on Aug. 8 by U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) would expand information sharing regarding suspected violations of intellectual property (IP) rights in trade in an effort to identify and interdict counterfeit imports.
Rep. Moore sponsored H.R. 4930 alongside bill cosponsor U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) to change how Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shares the packing and shipping information of suspected counterfeit products with key IP rights holders, transportation carriers, and e-commerce platforms.
“As a member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, I regularly speak to Utah companies that struggle to compete against IP theft and the proliferation of counterfeit material,” Rep. Moore said. “This bill will unlock real-time intelligence sharing between CBP and the private sector that will help shut down routes exploited by counterfeit operations and cut off counterfeit flows before they reach American shores.”
While CBP’s job is to identify counterfeit products at U.S. ports of entry and flag for businesses when they suspect a particular shipment might be counterfeit or pirated, they are currently only allowed to provide limited information about shipments in question.
CBP is not permitted to share packing materials, images, labels, invoices, or packing slips that identify the product’s country of origin, with key parties such as property rights holders, carriers like DHL, UPS, or FedEx, and e-commerce platforms like Etsy and Amazon.
If enacted, the bill would provide authority for CBP to share all relevant information with companies, carriers, and platforms when a shipment in question contains suspected counterfeit or pirated products, and would broaden the range of parties with which CBP could disclose such information, including shipping companies and e-commerce sites where the product in question may be sold, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
H.R. 4930 is companion legislation to the identical S. 2677, introduced on Aug. 8 by U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) in the U.S. Senate.
“Counterfeit goods undercut American businesses, threaten jobs, and endanger public safety,” said Rep. Schneider. “I’m proud to join my colleague on the Ways and Means Committee Rep. Blake Moore and Sens. Chuck Grassley and Maggie Hassan in introducing this legislation that enhances CBP’s ability to disrupt counterfeit trafficking networks and better safeguards our economy and communities.”
The International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, the Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council, the Baby Safety Alliance, the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, the International Trademark Association, the Partnership for Safe Medicines, the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, and the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade endorsed the measure.