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WASHINGTON — Senators introduced a bill Thursday that goals to guard the mental property of American firms, particularly small business owners, from foreign actors through law enforcement and recent policy proposals.
The American IP Defense and Enforcement Advancement Act, or the IDEA Act, is a bipartisan response to large losses business owners face every year on account of IP theft. Misuse of IP has cost the U.S. economy an estimated $225 billion to $600 billion every year, based on a 2017 report from the Commission on the Theft of American Mental Property that was cited by the lawmakers.
If passed, the IDEA Act will reauthorize a state and native law enforcement mental property enforcement program at $25 million per 12 months from 2024-29. This system – which supports state, local and tribal jurisdictions in stopping and reducing, investigating, and prosecuting IP theft crimes – was initially authorized for 2009-13.
This system, called PRO-IP, funded enforcement infrastructure in Austin, Texas, and Jackson, Mississippi, in addition to a sheriff’s program in Chicago. There could be particular emphasis on an inventory of nations under watch by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. They include China, Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia — areas where IP theft against U.S. small businesses is especially rampant.
Bipartisan lawmakers from each houses of Congress have often highlighted the urgent need for targeted solutions toward IP theft. In June, Republican lawmakers led by Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, implored the Justice Department to start investigating small business IP theft from Chinese actors.
Other IDEA Act initiatives include:
- An IP Protection Legal Aid program to counsel and protect small business owners.
- Authorized studies by the Government Accountability Office on protecting IP from misuse by watch list countries and recovering financial losses from theft.
- Annual reporting requirements by the IP Enforcement Coordinator on theft prevention strategies.
- A requirement for the Joint Strategic Plan Against Counterfeiting and Infringement to incorporate theft prevention by entities situated in or operating under watchlist countries.
Sens. Tammy Baldwin and John Cornyn, the IDEA Act’s co-sponsors, said the laws will help keep U.S. innovation in America.
“Mental property crimes cost American businesses a whole lot of billions of dollars every year, and small businesses often lack the resources to guard themselves against foreign bad actors,” said Cornyn, R-Texas. “This laws would help protect Texans from mental property theft by strengthening the partnership between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and offering legal aid to small businesses at little or no cost.”
“I’m proud to work with my Republican colleague to present Wisconsin’s small businesses the tools they should protect themselves and their ideas and empower law enforcement to go after the bad actors which are profiting off American innovation,” said Baldwin, D-Wisc.
The IDEA Act is supported by the University of Wisconsin Law School, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, based on the lawmakers.
“The American IDEA Act is an important step towards leveling the playing field for American creators, providing tools, resources, and a strategic approach to focus on bad actors in key jurisdictions around the globe,” said Robert Barchiesi, president of The International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition. “We stay up for working with Senator Baldwin and Senator Cornyn to make sure the enactment of this vital laws.”
