Title: Protection of Source Code Act
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Protection of Source Code Act
This bill amends the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to specify that the Securities and Exchange Commission may not compel a person to produce a source code or similar intellectual property that forms the basis for design of the source code without first issuing a subpoena.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3733 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3733

 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 10, 2018

  Mr. Perdue introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 Representatives 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''.

SEC. 2. PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING CERTAIN INTELLECTUAL 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 Intellectual Property.--Under 
this title, the Commission may not compel a person to produce or 
furnish source code, including algorithmic trading source code or 
similar intellectual property that forms the basis for design of the 
source code, to the Commission 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 Intellectual Property.--Under 
this title, the Commission may not compel a person to produce or 
furnish source code, including algorithmic trading source code or 
similar intellectual property that forms the basis for design of the 
source code, to the Commission unless the Commission first issues a 
subpoena.''.
    (c) Investment Companies.--Section 31 of the Investment Company Act 
of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-30) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(e) Procedure for Obtaining Certain Intellectual Property.--Under 
this title, the Commission may not compel an investment company to 
produce or furnish source code, including algorithmic trading source 
code or similar intellectual property that forms the basis for design 
of the source code, to the Commission unless the Commission first 
issues a subpoena.''.
    (d) Investment Advisers.--Section 204 of the Investment Advisers 
Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-4) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second subsection (d) (relating to 
        records of persons with custody or use) as subsection (e); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Procedure for Obtaining Certain Intellectual Property.--Under 
this title, the Commission may not compel 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 the source code, to the Commission unless the Commission first 
issues a subpoena.''.
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