WASHINGTON -- A pair of amendments proposed today to the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2011 would create new protections for the intellectual property of US companies and citizens.

Senators Chris Coons (D-NJ) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) proposed allowing US businesses affected by trade-secret theft to sue in federal court. The legislation would simplify potential recourse by streamlining existing state laws into a uniform national statute. Also, the bill would elevate trade-secret IP to the same level as copyright, trademark and patent violations.

Senators Coons and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) also proposed giving the Secretary of Homeland Security the legal authority to share basic information — like UPC codes and product samples — with American IP holders to determine if a shipment contains counterfeit or infringing products. The amendment would change the law that limits the information that may be shared prior to an actual property seizure.

“If our goal is to protect American jobs by leveling the playing field with countries like China, then we must take steps to protect American intellectual property from theft and counterfeit,” Sen. Coons said in a statement. “When foreign companies and governments steal our ideas, they’re stealing more than just formulas and schematics — they’re stealing jobs. These amendments are rooted in specific concerns I have heard repeatedly from manufacturers in Delaware who operate in a constant state of fear that their innovations are going to be stolen and sold by a foreign company. Theft of intellectual property and trade secrets have had devastating impacts on American companies, and these amendments would help give our nation the tools to fight back.”

US electronics manufacturers have loudly complained over the years that many emerging nations, China in particular, lack the basic infrastructure or even desire to control IP theft among their domestic corporations. Companies such as Cisco, Motorola, Apple and others have sued competitors abroad, while other electronics assembly suppliers have sought to prevent infringing process equipment and components from entering US territory.

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