Foreign Counterfeit Merchandise Prevention Act

Bill: 114-hr-236
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2]
Introduced: 2015-01-09
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Crimes against property

Criminal justice information and records

Customs enforcement

Government information and archives

Intellectual property
Latest action: action_date: 2015-02-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-01-09
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Foreign Counterfeit Merchandise Prevention Act</b></p> <p>Amends the federal criminal code to provide that it shall not be a violation of the prohibition against a federal employee disclosing trade secrets or other confidential or proprietary information for an officer or employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP): (1) upon detention and thereafter, to provide the owner of a copyright or a registered mark or any person who may be injured by a circumvention of copyright protection systems with any information appearing on the merchandise, including its retail packaging, or a sample or image of such merchandise and its retail packaging, for the purposes of determining whether the merchandise or its packaging infringes the copyright, bears or consists of a counterfeit mark of the registered mark, or is a violation of copyright protection systems; or (2) after seizing merchandise determined to be in violation of copyright protection systems, to provide certain information to persons injured by such violation, including the date of importation, the port of entry, a description of the merchandise, the country of origin of the merchandise, the names and addresses of the foreign manufacturer, the exporter, and the importer, and a photographic or digital image of the merchandise.</p> <p>Applies such exemption only with respect to tangible goods presented to the CBP for importation into, or exportation from, the United States.</p> <p>Amends the Lanham Act to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to record and transmit to customs officers any contact information, documentation of the locality in which goods were manufactured, and copies of trademark registrations furnished by domestic or eligible foreign manufacturers or traders for the purpose of aiding the enforcement of a prohibition on the importation of goods bearing infringing marks or names. (Currently, such activities are performed by the Department of the Treasury.) </p> <p>Requires DHS, if the CBP detains critical merchandise bearing a DHS-recorded registered trademark, to provide the trademark owner any information on such critical merchandise and its packaging and labels, including, without redaction, photographs or digital images, packaging, and labels. Permits the Secretary, subject to any bonding and return requirements, to provide the owner samples of the critical merchandise without redaction. </p> <p>Defines &quot;critical merchandise&quot; to include: (1) aircraft engines, appliances, propellers, and spare parts; (2) motor vehicle equipment; (3) semiconductors; and (4) any other article of manufacture that the Secretary determines could, if permitted entry into the United States in violation of the U.S. laws, pose a danger to the health, safety, or welfare of consumers, or to the national security of the United States. </p> <p>Applies such Lanham Act amendments only with respect to tangible goods presented to the CBP for importation into the United States.</p>

tv_txt: I 114th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 236 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 9, 2015 Mr. Poe of Texas (for himself, Ms. Lofgren , Mr. Farenthold , and Mr. Chabot ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for the exchange of information related to trade enforcement, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Foreign Counterfeit Merchandise Prevention Act . 2. Exchange of information related to trade enforcement Section 1905 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking Whoever and inserting (a) In general.— Whoever ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (b) Provision of information relating to merchandise presented to Customs It shall not be a violation of this section for an officer or employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, upon detention and thereafter, to provide to the owner of a copyright or a registered mark, or to any person who may be injured by a violation of section 1201 of title 17— (1) any information appearing on the merchandise, including its retail packaging, (2) a sample of the merchandise and its retail packaging, or (3) digital images of the merchandise and its retail packaging, as it was presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, without redaction, whether imported into or exported from the United States, or attempted to be exported from the United States, for purposes of determining whether the merchandise or its retail packaging infringes the copyright, bears or consists of a counterfeit mark of the registered mark, or is in violation of section 1201 of title 17, as the case may be. (c) Provision of information relating to seized merchandise It shall not be a violation of this section for an officer or employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, after seizing merchandise pursuant to a determination that the merchandise is in violation of section 1201 of title 17, to provide, to persons injured by the violation, information with respect to the merchandise, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) The date of importation. (2) The port of entry. (3) The description of the merchandise from the entry. (4) The quantity involved. (5) The country of origin of the merchandise. (6) The name and address of the foreign manufacturer. (7) The name and address of the exporter. (8) The name and address of the importer. (9) Photographic or digital images of the merchandise. (d) Definitions As used in this section— (1) the term registered mark has the meaning given that term in section 45 of the Lanham Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1127 ); (2) the term Lanham Act has the meaning given that term in section 2320(f) of this title; (3) the term counterfeit mark has the meaning given that term in section 2320(f) of this title; and (4) the term without redaction means, with respect to merchandise, without removing, revising, or otherwise obscuring any information, codes, marks, numbers, or any other markings that appear on the merchandise or its retail packaging. (e) Rule of construction Subsections (b), (c), and (d) apply only with respect to tangible goods presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for importation into, or exportation from, the United States. . 3. Prevention of importation of manufactured goods bearing infringing marks (a) In general Section 42 of the Lanham Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1124 ), is amended— (1) in the first sentence, by striking Except as and inserting (a) In general.— Except as ; (2) by striking of the Treasury each place it appears and inserting of Homeland Security ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (b) Detention of critical merchandise With respect to critical merchandise that bears a registered trademark recorded under subsection (a), if U.S. Customs and Border Protection detains the merchandise because the merchandise is suspected of bearing a counterfeit mark, then, upon such detention, the Secretary— (1) shall provide to the owner of the registered trademark any information on the critical merchandise and its packaging and labels, including, without redaction, photographs or digital images of the critical merchandise, packaging, and labels; and (2) may, at any time, subject to any applicable bonding and return requirements, provide to the owner of the registered trademark samples of the critical merchandise, without redaction. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Critical merchandise (A) In general The term critical merchandise includes— (i) aircraft engines, appliances, propellers, and spare parts; (ii) motor vehicle equipment; (iii) semiconductors; and (iv) any other article of manufacture that the Secretary determines could, if permitted entry into the United States in violation of the laws of the United States pose a danger to the health, safety, or welfare of consumers, or to the national security of the United States. (B) Other definitions For purposes of subparagraph (A)— (i) the terms aircraft engine , appliance , propeller , and spare part have the meanings given those terms in section 40102(a) of title 49, United States Code; (ii) the term motor vehicle equipment has the meaning given that term in section 30102(a) of title 49, United States Code; and (iii) the term semiconductor means semiconductor chip product as defined in section 901 of title 17, United States Code. (2) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Homeland Security. (3) Without redaction The term without redaction means, with respect to merchandise, without removing, revising, or otherwise obscuring any information, codes, marks, numbers, or any other markings that appear on the merchandise or its retail packaging. (d) Rule of construction This section applies only with respect to tangible goods presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for importation into the United States. . (b) Definition In this section, the term Lanham Act means the Act entitled An Act to provide for the registration and protection of trademarks used in commerce, to carry out the provisions of certain international conventions, and for other purposes , approved July 5, 1946 ( 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq. ). (c) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.