DAP IPR Enforcement Proposal Evaluation Procedures & Criteria Framework

The Donations Acceptance Program (DAP) is a partnership mechanism to collaboratively explore and implement tangible solutions to trade and travel facilitation and enforcement challenges. DAP is authorized to accept donations of real property, personal property, and non-personal services from private sector and government entities.

The DAP oversees two major partnership portfolios: Infrastructure/Personal Property and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement technology. The DAP was established in FY 2015 to explore, foster, and facilitate partnerships for port of entry infrastructure and technology improvements. The latter consists primarily of intellectual property rights enforcement partnerships aimed at protecting CBP's trade stakeholders and U.S. consumers from counterfeit and potentially unsafe goods.

On December 16, 2016, section 2 of the Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act of 2016, P.L. 114-279, amended title IV of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to, among other things, add a new section 482, which jointly authorized CBP and GSA to accept real property, personal property, monetary, and non-personal services donations from private sector and government entities. Section 482 was further amended by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2022 (P.L. 117-81, Section 6410), signed into law on December 27, 2021, which expanded and extended CBP’s ability to implement this initiative authorizing CBP to continue to enter into partnerships in the form of donations of real property from private sector and government entities. See 6 U.S.C. 301a.

In addition, Section 308(d) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA), P.L. 114-125 (2016), extended that authority to allow for the donation of tools for IPR enforcement. Title 19 Code of Federal Regulations § 133.61 prescribes the methods by which donations of IPR technology and related support services may be made. Specifically, Title 19 CFR 133.61(a) sets forth the scope of this section and identifies the authority to accept donations, § 133.61(b) describes the donation process, and § 133.61(c) lays out the elements of the written donation agreement.