EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Troy Nehls Moves To Prevent US Universities From ‘Compromising The Security Of Our Nation’

Republican Texas Rep. Troy Nehls introduced legislation Wednesday that would prevent U.S. universities from selling the intellectual property (IP) rights of their research to certain foreign countries, the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

Nehls’ Preventing Research Ownership Transfer to External Competitive Threats (PROTECT) Act would establish civil penalties for U.S. universities that sell the intellectual property rights of research conducted by their institutions, staff or students to foreign governments such as China, Russia or Iran, according to the bill’s text first obtained by the DCNF. The legislation would also allow the Department of Justice and the State Department to seize any funding a university received from such foreign nations in exchange for covered research.

“Under no circumstance should U.S. universities be selling the intellectual property rights of their research to foreign, hostile nations,” Nehls said in a statement provided to the DCNF. “Our country’s universities should be focused on advancing American students’ 🎓Education rather than jeopardizing the national security of the United States and spoon-feeding our adversaries a technological edge. My legislation ensures U.S. universities aren’t compromising the security of our nation by prohibiting them from selling the IP rights of their research to nations that hate us.”