This past February, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized over 40 hoverboards due to counterfeit batteries. The full CBP press release can be found here.

The batteries seized by CBP are alleged to contain the counterfeit “Samsung” (三星) trademark. Besides protecting the IP rights of the trademark holder, CBP claims these seizures are necessary to enforce product safety laws citing safety concerns that the reports of fires may be caused by substandard or counterfeit batteries.

These safety concerns have also caused some retailers such as Amazon, Target and Toys R’ Us to pull the self-balancing scoooters from their websites. So far, CBP has seized more than 50,000 hoverboards while also likely reducing the number of “hoverboard fails” uploaded on Youtube.

Due to heightened scrutiny by CPB, anyone importing these popular items (or any other parts or components they feel may contain counterfeit marks), should seek counsel to verify the origin of the components.

What are your thoughts on the public safety concerns and seizures of hoverboards? Leave a comment below.

Hoverboard image above from Wikipedia