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

The proposed bill is a proper exercise of Congress's power to regulate foreign commerce and to secure exclusive rights to authors and inventors. By expanding the authority of Customs and Border Protection to share information with right holders, it strengthens enforcement against counterfeit and pirated goods entering the United States. This falls squarely within the federal government's constitutional duties to protect intellectual property and to police the flow of imports, and it serves the general welfare by promoting innovation and fair trade. The sharing of nonpublic information obtained…

This bill offends the spirit of the Fourth Amendment, which secures the people against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Tenth Amendment, which reserves to the States or the people all powers not delegated to the United States. Expanding the sharing of nonpublic information—including images of packing materials and data from online marketplaces—with private parties upon mere 'reasonable suspicion' rather than probable cause or a warrant, grants federal agents a power to expose private commercial transactions without judicial oversight. Moreover, the Constitution nowhere delegates to …

This bill is a constitutional exercise of Congress's power to regulate foreign commerce. The authority to control imports and protect intellectual property rights in trade is a core aspect of the foreign commerce power under Article I, Section 8, Clause 3. The expansion of information sharing by Customs and Border Protection to facilitate the detection of trademark and copyright violations is a necessary and proper means to enforce those laws, as authorized by the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18). The bill does not exceed the enumerated powers of the federal govern…

This bill is constitutional as it falls within the enumerated power of Congress to regulate foreign commerce. The Constitution grants Congress the authority 'To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations' (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The expansion of information sharing by Customs and Border Protection to enforce intellectual property rights in imported merchandise is a proper exercise of this power, as it directly relates to the flow of goods across national borders. Moreover, the necessary and proper clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) authorizes Congress to make all laws which shall b…