Rep. Curtis revives effort to stop Chinese intellectual property theft with bill banning some visas

Scott Lewis
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON (ABC4) — As Congress debates a ban on Chinese-owned Tik-Tok, Utah U.S. Rep. John Curtis introduced another bill this week to help punish Chinese companies that steal American intellectual properties.

It’s not the first time a congressional member has attempted to pass a bill to combat IP theft. In 2021, Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko introduced a similar bill, but it never left committee. Curtis said this week he hopes his new bill — Combating China’s Pilfering of Intellectual Property Act (CCP IP Act) — will pressure the Chinese government to crack down.

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A copy of the bill can be read in its entirety below.

“I have heard from numerous constituents that saw their IP stolen by China, frequently resulting in copycat products being sold on sites like Temu,” said Curtis. “The CCP IP Act directly punishes those who steal American IP and broadly puts pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to stop their intentional strategy of stealing from everyday Americans.”

The bill would impose penalties on what Curtis called “bad actors working to steal American IP.” It would place sanctions on companies, government entities, and individuals. It would also ban Chinese Communist Party members from getting visas until China acts to protect American products. Those banned would include:

  • Senior officials in the Chinese Communist Party, including the Politburo, the Central Committee, and each delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and their family members.

  • Members of the Cabinet of the Government

  • Active-duty members of the People’s Liberation Army.

Curtis quoted FBI Agent David Fitzgibbons as noting counterfeited goods, pirated software, and theft of trade secrets cost the U.S. economy anywhere from $225 billion to $600 billion annually. Fitzgibbons covers national security breaches for Utah, Idaho, and Montana.

As a member of the U.S. House’s GOP China Task Force, Curtis said he found Chinese government officials seek to “damage or destroy the value of the IP of U.S. businesses…” He stated that in 2019, 92% of IP-related seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection originated in China and Hong Kong.

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