H.R. 4930 · Passed House · Foreign Trade and International Finance

To expand the sharing of information with respect to suspected violations of intellectual property rights in trade.

Sponsor: Blake D. Moore (R-UT)

What it does

• Expands CBP authority to share suspected intellectual property violation information with trademark and copyright owners and other interested parties during merchandise inspection.
• Lowers the evidentiary threshold for CBP information sharing from 'suspects' to 'reasonable suspicion' of intellectual property violations in imported goods.
• Permits CBP to share images and information about packaging materials, containers, and labels of suspected infringing merchandise with authorized parties.
• Allows CBP to disclose nonpublic information from online marketplaces, freight forwarders, and other entities involved in importing or selling merchandise to persons assisting in IP investigations.

Official summary

This bill expands the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to provide information to certain persons (e.g., trademark or copyright owners) regarding suspected violations of intellectual property rights in trade. Under current law, if CBP suspects that merchandise is being imported in violation of certain trademark and copyright laws, it may request assistance from specified persons when determining whether the merchandise is imported in violation of these laws. To permit the party to conduct examination and testing, CBP must provide them with specified information that appears on the merchandise and its packaging and labels. This bill (1) expands the definition of person to allow CBP to request assistance from any other appropriate party with an interest in the imported merchandise, and (2) expands the scope of information that CBP is authorized to share with others to include information on and images of packing materials and containers. The bill allows CBP to request this assistance if it has a reasonable suspicion (currently, suspects) that the merchandise being imported is in violation of certain trademark and copyright laws. Additionally, CBP may provide a…

Latest action

Apr 28, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Committee: Senate Finance