H.R. 7510: Preventing Research Ownership Transfer to External Competitive Threats (PROTECT) Act of 2026

This bill, known as the Preventing Research Ownership Transfer to External Competitive Threats (PROTECT) Act of 2026, aims to prevent certain foreign governments from obtaining intellectual property rights from research conducted by U.S. universities and their affiliates, including faculty, staff, and students. The primary focus is on protecting research and technological developments from controlled foreign governments classified as "prohibited nations." Below are the key provisions of the bill:

Definitions

The bill provides definitions for several key terms:

• Covered foreign government: Refers to governments of certain prohibited nations, along with their agencies or entities.
• Covered research: This includes any research, invention, or intellectual property developed by U.S. universities and their personnel.
• Designated foreign terrorist organization: Defined as per existing U.S. law.
• Intellectual property rights: Covers a range of proprietary rights, including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets related to covered research.
• United States university: Refers to any institution of higher education in the U.S.

Prohibitions

The bill establishes the following main prohibition:

• U.S. universities, their faculty, staff, and students are not allowed to contract or engage in any transaction that provides intellectual property rights to covered foreign governments regarding covered research.

Prohibited Nations

The bill identifies specific nations that are considered prohibited, which include:

• The Russian Federation.
• The People's Republic of China.
• The Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Any nation engaged in armed conflict with the U.S.
• Nations that harbor or support foreign terrorist organizations.
• Nations designated by the U.S. Department of State as State Sponsors of Terrorism.
• Any nation determined by the Secretary of State to pose a national security threat.

Penalties for Violations

The bill outlines penalties for U.S. universities that violate the prohibition:

• If the violation does not threaten national security, a civil penalty of up to $500,000 may be imposed.
• If the violation involves research related to critical energy or defense issues, the penalty could increase up to $5,000,000.
• Any funds received from violating these provisions could be seized by the U.S. government.

Enforcement

The Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of State, is responsible for enforcing the penalties outlined in the bill.

Determinations by Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is tasked with making various determinations related to the bill, including:

• Identifying prohibited nations.
• Assessing the threat level to national security.
• Determining the relevance of covered research to critical energy or defense issues.

These determinations are final and not subject to judicial review, with the exception of constitutional rights claims.

Severability

If any part of the bill is found to be invalid, the rest of the bill remains effective and applicable.

Relevant Companies

• AAPL - Apple Inc.: Potential restrictions on research partnerships involving technologies developed in collaboration with U.S. universities.
• AMZN - Amazon.com, Inc.: Might face limitations on research activities or collaborations with universities, especially if dealing with sensitive technologies.
• GOOGL - Alphabet Inc.: Could be impacted in terms of open research agreements with universities if associated with specified foreign entities.
• TSLA - Tesla, Inc.: May experience restrictions in university collaborations related to energy technologies.