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

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) “covered foreign government” as the government of any prohibited nation, including any agency, instrumentality, or entity controlled by such government; (2) “covered research” as any research, invention, discovery, or intellectual property developed or conducted, in whole or in part, by a United States university or by any faculty member, staff member, or student affiliated with such university; (3) “designated foreign terrorist organization” as having the meaning given that term in section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); (4) “intellectual property rights” as including patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, know-how, data rights, and any other form of proprietary information or rights related to covered research; (5) “prohibited nation” as having the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Act; and (6) “United States university” as any institution of higher education, as defined in section 101 or 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001, 1002), that is headquartered in the United States.

This section prohibits any U.S. university or its affiliated faculty, staff, or students from entering into a contract, agreement, license, sale, transfer, or other transaction granting a covered foreign government intellectual property rights in covered research. The prohibition applies to transactions entered into on or after the date of enactment.

This section defines the term “prohibited nation” to mean (1) the Russian Federation; (2) the People’s Republic of China; (3) the Islamic Republic of Iran; (4) any nation engaged in armed conflict with the United States; (5) any nation that harbors, financially supports, or otherwise cooperates with a designated foreign terrorist organization; (6) any nation designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the U.S. Department of State; or (7) any other nation that the Secretary of State determines poses a threat to the national security of the United States.

This section establishes civil penalties for any U.S. university that violates section 3. Penalties are up to $500,000 per violation if the Secretary of State determines the violation does not endanger national security, or up to $5 million per violation if it endangers national security (particularly involving covered research related to critical energy or defense issues). The section further requires seizure and forfeiture to the U.S. government of any funds or other consideration received by the university for intellectual property rights in the covered research and directs the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to enforce these penalties.

This section requires the Secretary of State to make all determinations required under this Act, including designations of prohibited nations under section 4(7), national security threat levels under sections 5(a) or 5(b), and whether covered research relates to critical energy or defense issues under section 5(b). It makes such determinations final and committed to agency discretion, not subject to judicial review except to the extent required by the Constitution for colorable claims of constitutional rights violations.

This section provides a severability clause, stating that if any provision of the Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.