Indian Arts and Crafts Act
of 1990
One Hundred First Congress of the United States
of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the twenty-third
day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety An Act
To expand the powers of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
TITLE I--INDIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the `Indian Arts and Crafts Act
of 1990'.
SEC. 102. POWERS OF INDIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS BOARD.
Section 2 of the Act entitled `An Act to promote the development
of Indian arts and crafts and to create a board to assist
therein, and for other purposes' (25 U.S.C. 305a) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence--
(A) by striking `the Board' and inserting `the Secretary of
the Interior through the Board'; and
(B) by striking `the Indian wards of the Government' and inserting
`Indian individuals';
(2) by amending clause (g) to read as follows: `(g)(1) to
create for the Board, or for an individual Indian or Indian
tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization, trademarks of
genuineness and quality for Indian products and the products
of an individual Indian or particular Indian tribe or Indian
arts and crafts organization; (2) to establish standards and
regulations for the use of Government-owned trademarks by
corporations, associations, or individuals, and to charge
for such use under such licenses; (3) to register any such
trademark owned by the Government in the United States Patent
and Trademark Office without charge and assign it and the
goodwill associated with it to an individual Indian or Indian
tribe without charge; and (4) to pursue or defend in the courts
any appeal or proceeding with respect to any final determination
of that office;'; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sentence: `For
the purposes of this section, the term `Indian arts and crafts
organization' means any legally established arts and crafts
marketing organization composed of members of Indian tribes.'.
SEC. 103. REFERRAL FOR CRIMINAL AND CIVIL VIOLATIONS.
The Act entitled `An Act to promote the development of Indian
arts and crafts and to create a board to assist therein, and
for other purposes' (25 U.S.C. 305 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end of the following:
`SEC. 5. (a) The Board may receive complaints of violations
of section 1159 of title 18, United States Code, and refer
complaints of such violations to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
for appropriate investigation. After reviewing the investigation
report, the Board may recommend to the Attorney General of
the United States that criminal proceedings be instituted
under that section.
`(b) The Board may recommend that the Secretary of the Interior
refer the matter to the Attorney General for civil action
under section 6.'.
SEC. 104. CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR MISREPRESENTATION OF INDIAN
PRODUCED GOODS AND PRODUCTS. (a) IN GENERAL- Section
1159 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
`Sec. 1159. Misrepresentation of Indian produced goods
and products
`(a) It is unlawful to offer or display for sale or sell any
good, with or without a Government trademark, in a manner
that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product,
or the product of a particular Indian or Indian tribe or Indian
arts and crafts organization, resident within the United States.
`(b) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (a) shall--
`(1) in the case of a first violation, if an individual, be
fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned not more than five
years, or both, and, if a person other than an individual,
be fined not more than $1,000,000; and
`(2) in the case of subsequent violations, if an individual,
be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than
fifteen years, or both, and, if a person other than an individual,
be fined not more than $5,000,000.
`(c) As used in this section--
`(1) the term `Indian' means any individual who is a member
of an Indian tribe, or for the purposes of this section is
certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian tribe;
`(2) the terms `Indian product' and `product of a particular
Indian tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization' has the
meaning given such term in regulations which may be promulgated
by the Secretary of the Interior;
`(3) the term `Indian tribe' means--
`(A) any Indian tribe, band, nation, Alaska Native village,
or other organized group or community which is recognized
as eligible for the special programs and services provided
by the United States to Indians because of their status as
Indians; or
`(B) any Indian group that has been formally recognized as
an Indian tribe by a State legislature or by a State commission
or similar organization legislatively vested with State tribal
recognition authority; and
`(4) the term `Indian arts and crafts organization' means
any legally established arts and crafts marketing organization
composed of members of Indian tribes.
`(d) In the event that any provision of this section is held
invalid, it is the intent of Congress that the remaining provisions
of this section shall continue in full force and effect.'.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The item relating to section 1159
in the table of sections for chapter 53 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
`1159. Misrepresentation of Indian produced goods and products.'.
SEC. 105. CAUSE OF ACTION FOR MISREPRESENTATION OF INDIAN
PRODUCED GOODS AND PRODUCTS.
The Act entitled `An Act to promote the development of Indian
arts and crafts and to create a board to assist therein, and
for other purposes' (25 U.S.C. 305 et seq.) (as amended by
section 3) is further amended by adding at the end of the
following:
`SEC. 6. (a) A person specified in subsection (c) may, in
a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction, bring
an action against a person who offers or displays for sale
or sells a good, with or without a Government trademark, in
a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian
product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian tribe
or Indian arts and crafts organization, resident within the
United States, to--
`(1) obtain injunctive or other equitable relief; and
`(2) recover the greater of--
`(A) treble damages; or
`(B) in the case of each aggrieved individual Indian, Indian
tribe, or Indian arts and crafts organization, not less than
$1,000 for each day on which the offer or display for sale
or sale continues.
`(b) In addition to the relief specified in subsection (a),
the court may award punitive damages and the costs of suit
and a reasonable attorney's fee.
`(c)(1) A civil action under subsection (a) may be commenced--
`(A) by the Attorney General of the United States upon request
of the Secretary of the Interior on behalf of an Indian who
is a member of an Indian tribe or on behalf of an Indian tribe
or Indian arts and crafts organization; or
`(B) by an Indian tribe on behalf of itself, an Indian who
is a member of the tribe, or on behalf of an Indian arts and
crafts organization.
`(2) Any amount recovered pursuant to this section shall be
paid to the individual Indian, Indian tribe, or Indian arts
and crafts organization, except that--
`(A) in the case of paragraph (1)(A), the Attorney General
may deduct from the amount recovered the amount for the costs
of suit and reasonable attorney's fees awarded pursuant to
subsection (b) and deposit the amount of such costs and fees
as a reimbursement credited to appropriations currently available
to the Attorney General at the time of receipt of the amount
recovered; and
`(B) in the case of paragraph (1)(B), the amount recovered
for the costs of suit and reasonable attorney's fees pursuant
to subsection (b) may be deducted from the total amount awarded
under subsection (a)(2).
`(d) As used in this section--
`(1) the term `Indian' means any individual who is a member
of an Indian tribe; or for the purposes of this section is
certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian tribe;
`(2) the terms `Indian product' and `product of a particular
Indian tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization' has the
meaning given such term in regulations which may be promulgated
by the Secretary of the Interior;
`(3) the term `Indian tribe' means--
`(A) any Indian tribe, band, nation, Alaska Native village,
or other organized group or community which is recognized
as eligible for the special programs and services provided
by the United States to Indians because of their status as
Indians; or
`(B) any Indian group that has been formally recognized as
an Indian tribe by a State legislature or by a State commission
or similar organization legislatively vested with State tribal
recognition authority; and
`(4) the term `Indian arts and crafts organization' means
any legally established arts and crafts marketing organization
composed of members of Indian tribes.
`(e) In the event that any provision of this section is held
invalid, it is the intent of Congress that the remaining provisions
of this section shall continue in full force and effect.'.
SEC. 106. PENALTY FOR COUNTERFEITING INDIAN ARTS AND
CRAFTS BOARD TRADEMARK.
Section 1158 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
striking `be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more
than six months, or both; and' and inserting `(1) in the case
of a first violation, if an individual, be fined not more
than $250,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both,
and, if a person other than an individual, be fined not more
than $1,000,000; and (2) in the case of subsequent violations,
if an individual, be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned
not more than fifteen years, or both, and, if a person other
than an individual, be fined not more than $5,000,000; and
(3)'.
SEC. 107. CERTIFICATION OF INDIAN ARTISANS.
For the purposes of section 1159 of title 18, United States
Code, and section 6 of the Act entitled `An Act to promote
the development of Indian arts and crafts and to create a
board to assist therein, and for other purposes' (25 U.S.C.
305 et seq.) an Indian tribe may not impose a fee in certifying
an individual as an Indian artisan. For the purposes of this
section, the term `Indian tribe' has the same meaning given
such term in section 1159(c)(3) of title 18, United States
Code.
- Read
the Final Regulations as Published in the October, 1996 Federal
Register
- Read
the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1935
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