Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Foreign Counterfeit Merchandise Prevention Act”.
Foreign Counterfeit Merchandise Prevention Act
A BILL
To provide for the exchange of information related to trade enforcement, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Exchange of information related to trade enforcement
Section 1905 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
by striking “Whoever” and inserting “(a) In general.—Whoever”; and
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,
“(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.”
Sec. 3 Prevention of importation of manufactured goods bearing infringing marks
in the first sentence, by striking “Except as” and inserting “(a) In general.—Except as”;
by striking “of the Treasury” each place it appears and inserting “of Homeland Security”; and
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.”
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.).
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.