[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7510 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7510
To prohibit certain foreign governments from acquiring intellectual
property rights of research conducted by United States universities,
faculty, staff, or students, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 11, 2026
Mr. Nehls (for himself and Mr. Gill of Texas) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit certain foreign governments from acquiring intellectual
property rights of research conducted by United States universities,
faculty, staff, or students, 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 ``Preventing Research Ownership
Transfer to External Competitive Threats (PROTECT) Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered foreign government.--The term ``covered foreign
government'' means the government of any prohibited nation,
including any agency, instrumentality, or entity controlled by
such government.
(2) Covered research.--The term ``covered research'' means
any research, invention, discovery, or intellectual property
developed or conducted, in whole or in part, by a United States
university, or by any faculty member, staff member, or student
affiliated with such university.
(3) Designated foreign terrorist organization.--The term
``designated foreign terrorist organization'' has the meaning
given such term in section 219 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).
(4) Intellectual property rights.--The term ``intellectual
property rights'' includes patents, copyrights, trademarks,
trade secrets, know-how, data rights, and any other form of
proprietary information or rights related to covered research.
(5) Prohibited nation.--The term ``prohibited nation'' has
the meaning given such term in section 4.
(6) United states university.--The term ``United States
university'' means any institution of higher education as
defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001) or section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1002), headquartered in the United States.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON ACQUISITION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.
(a) In General.--No United States university, or any faculty
member, staff member, or student affiliated with such university, shall
enter into any contract, agreement, license, sale, transfer, or other
transaction that grants, conveys, or otherwise provides a covered
foreign government with any intellectual property rights in covered
research.
(b) Applicability.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall
apply to any transaction entered into on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITED NATIONS.
The term ``prohibited nation'' means--
(1) the Russian Federation;
(2) the People's Republic of China;
(3) the Islamic Republic of Iran;
(4) any nation that is engaged in armed conflict with the
United States;
(5) any nation that harbors, financially supports, or
otherwise cooperates with a designated foreign terrorist
organization;
(6) any nation designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
by the U.S. Department of State; or
(7) any other nation that the Secretary of State determines
poses a threat to the national security of the United States.
SEC. 5. PENALTIES.
(a) Violations Not Endangering National Security.--Any United
States university that violates section 3 shall be subject to a civil
penalty of not more than $500,000 for each such violation, if the
Secretary of State determines that the violation does not endanger the
national security of the United States.
(b) Violations Endangering National Security.--Any United States
university that violates section 3 with respect to covered research, in
general, or covered research related to critical energy or defense
issues, which may affect the national security of the United States
shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000,000 for
each such violation.
(c) Seizure of Funds.--In the case of any violation under
subsection (a) or (b), any funds or other consideration received by the
United States university in exchange for the intellectual property
rights in the covered research shall be subject to seizure and
forfeiture to the United States Government.
(d) Enforcement.--The Attorney General, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, shall enforce the penalties under this section.
SEC. 6. DETERMINATIONS BY SECRETARY OF STATE.
(a) In General.--Any determination required under this Act,
including determinations regarding prohibited nations under section
4(7), the level of threat to national security under section 5(a) or
5(b), or whether covered research relates to critical energy or defense
issues under section 5(b), shall be made by the Secretary of State.
(b) Finality.--Determinations under subsection (a) shall be final
and committed to agency discretion. No such determination, finding, or
action under this section shall be subject to judicial review, except
to the extent required by the Constitution for colorable claims of
violation of constitutional rights.
SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision
to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of
this Act, and the application of such provision to other persons or
circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.
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