I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3948 
To prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission from compelling a 
person to produce or furnish algorithmic trading source code or similar 
intellectual property to the Commission unless the Commission first 
issues a subpoena, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 4, 2017 
Mr. DUFFY (for himself, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, and Mr. HULTGREN) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Fi-
nancial Services 
A BILL 
To prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission from 
compelling a person to produce or furnish algorithmic 
trading source code or similar intellectual property to 
the Commission unless the Commission first issues a 
subpoena, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protection of Source 
Code Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING CERTAIN INTELLEC-
TUAL PROPERTY. 
(a) PERSONS UNDER SECURITIES ACT OF 1933.— 
Section 8 of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77h) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING CERTAIN INTEL-
LECTUAL PROPERTY.—The Commission is not authorized 
to compel under this title a person to produce or furnish 
source code, including algorithmic trading source code or 
similar intellectual property that forms the basis for de-
sign of or provides insight to the source code, to the Com-
mission unless the Commission first issues a subpoena.’’. 
(b) PERSONS UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE 
ACT OF 1934.—Section 23 of the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78w) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(e) PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING CERTAIN INTEL-
LECTUAL PROPERTY.—The Commission is not authorized 
to compel under this title a person to produce or furnish 
source code, including algorithmic trading source code or 
similar intellectual property that forms the basis for de-
sign of or provides insight to the source code, to the Com-
mission unless the Commission first issues a subpoena.’’. 
(c) INVESTMENT COMPANIES.—Section 31 of the In-
vestment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–30) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(e) PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING CERTAIN INTEL-
LECTUAL PROPERTY.—The Commission is not authorized 
to compel under this title an investment company to 
produce or furnish source code, including algorithmic trad-
ing source code or similar intellectual property that forms 
the basis for design of or provides insight to the source 
code, to the Commission unless the Commission first 
issues a subpoena.’’. 
(d) INVESTMENT ADVISERS.—Section 204 of the In-
vestment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–4) is 
amended— 
(1) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING CERTAIN INTEL-
LECTUAL PROPERTY.—The Commission is not authorized 
to compel under this title an investment adviser to produce 
or furnish source code, including algorithmic trading 
source code or similar intellectual property that forms the 
basis for design of or provides insight to the source code, 
to the Commission unless the Commission first issues a 
subpoena.’’; and 
(2) in the second subsection (d), by striking 
‘‘(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(e)’’. 
Æ 
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