The opinions expressed are those of David Hsu and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its partners, or its clients. The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice on any subject. No recipient of content from this site, clients or otherwise, should act on the basis of any content in this site without seeking the appropriate legal or professional advice based on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the recipient's state.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Pittsburgh seized a shipment of 25 pacifiers with counterfeit marks of luxury brands such as Chanel and Mercedez Benz. In addition to bearing a registered mark, counterfeit products may also be manufactured using inferior quality of materials – such as lead paint with excessive lead paint levels. The pacifiers were bejeweled – causing CBP to note the poor quality workmanship may result in loose pieces breaking off and potentially choking a child that may ingest the pieces. If authentic, the pacifiers have a MSRP of $1,300.00.
If you have had your goods seized by Customs and you want to discuss your seizure options, contact David Hsu by phone/text at anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Earlier this past July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at one of our great nation’s biggest seaport of Los Angeles / Long Beach seized a large shipment of women’s sleepwear containing counterfeit brands such as Gucci, Facebook and Instagram.
2020 is a weird year indeed when we consider Facebook and Instagram to be a luxury brand. If authentic the 16,340 items of seized counterfeit pajamas (called “sleeping dresses”) would be worth an approximate retail value of $5.5 million.
CBP reported the counterfeit goods were concealed inside generic non-branded pajamas which CBP believes was intentionally packaged to avoid detection.
Author’s note – yes, in general if you pack counterfeit goods underneath unbranded goods, or try to conceal a counterfeit logo (such as using black tape to cover a logo), CBP will assume you are aware of the nature of the goods and are attempting to smuggle them into the US in violation of 19 USC 1595a (c)(1)(A), in other words merchandise that “is stolen, smuggled, or clandestinely imported or introduced“.
In addition to violating intellectual property rights of the trademark holder, CBP also claims counterfeit goods may not be in compliance with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requirements for flammability standards of sleepwear.
If you have had your shipment seized for alleged counterfeit violations or seized for alleged violations of CPSC consumer guidelines – contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Pennsylvania U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers didn’t catch them all, but they did catch 86,000 of them. The seized shipment from Hong Kong was described as “plastic furnishing articles” but instead contained counterfeit Pokemon figurines in 15 boxes.
The figurines were seized for violations of violating U.S. intellectual property rights along with being a potential choking hazard. The estimated value of the shipment, if authentic is approximately $603,936. CBP usually tests counterfeit toys for lead levels, but did not do so in this instance.
If your goods have been seized by Customs, contact David Hsu by phone/text for a no cost or obligation consultation at 832-896-6288, or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), CBP officers at the Georgia seaport seized 5,000 stuffed toy ducks after tests found the ducks contained excessive amounts of lead.
The container arrived from Hong Kong and was labeled in boxes labeled “Doctor Duck”. The toys were detained and a sample was shipped to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for testing.
Test results found the toys contained excess levels of lead and cannot be entered into the US, meaning the next step for CBP will be to destroy the over $100,000 worth of toys.
If your shipment has been seized for excessive lead paint, contact David Hsu for a no cost consultation at 832-896-6288 or by email to attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers seized commercial shipments of girls clothing and pajamas. The shipment from China was tested by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and found to contain excessive amounts of lead, violating the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. The other shipment contained pajamas also manufactured in China. Upon testing by the CPSC, Customs found the pajamas failed the flammability requirements under the Flammable Fabrics Act.
As a result of the violations, Customs seized the merchandise and will likely destroy the goods. I do not see any possibility the FPF paralegal would allow these goods to be entered into the US.
As I previously mentioned, CBP will first detain a shipment, have the shipment tested and then seize the shipment. After a seizure, Customs will send a Notice of Seizure to the importer of record for both shipments. Given the value of the shipment, $700 for the clothing and $1,500 for the pajamas, I don’t believe an importer of record will contest the seizures, much less hire an attorney to handle the seizure.
If you have had your goods seized for violating the CPSC regulations, Flammable Fabrics Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act or any other regulations from the alphabet soup of federal agencies, call experienced seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Image of seized toys containing lead, source: CBP.gov
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 190 toy finger puppets after it was determined that they contained excessive amounts of lead. The article does not specify the country of origin, but does say the shipment originated from Ottawa, Ontario and destined for a distribution center in the US.
CBP officers detained the shipment of toys to examine whether the toys contained lead in the paint. With the involvement of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), they determined the toys were contaminated with lead. As a result, the finger puppets will be destroyed by CBP.
If you have had a shipment seized by Customs, contact experienced seizure attorney David Hsu for immediate help by cell/text at 832-896-6288, or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Baltimore seized 790 children’s hair brushes from China. The children’s folding hair brushes contained a mirror and were included in a shipment which included “hats, gloves, hookah”. A sample of the shipment was sent to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to conduct a chemical analysis.
The CPSC advised CBP that the brushes contained excessive lead levels – more than 2,500 parts per million. In general, all children’s products made or imported into the US must not contain more than 100 parts per million of total lead content in “accessible parts”.
The appraised value of the seized goods carry a suggested retail price (MSRP) of $5,522. As the lead content is hazardous to children, the brushes will be destroyed by CBP.
While America took had the lead paint abatement initiative starting in the 70’s, the rest of the world is yet to fully rid the use of lead in many paints. Excessive amounts of lead are harmful to children if the accessible parts are placed in their mouths. Lead in paint causes illness and excessive levels further damage the a child’s development.
If you have any import/export questions, contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.
According to a Customs media release on September 14, 2018, CBP officers at the International Falls Port of Entry detained several rail containers transporting toys with counterfeit items and toys with prohibited lead levels.
Customs seized the first container of 2,459 die cast “transporter carry case” filled with toy cars for excessive lead levels.
The second container was seized for containing 5,460 fashion dolls that violated copyright protected markings. The media release claimed the suggested retail price was $139,145.
As Christmas and the holidays approaches, I believe this is only the beginning of more seizures. If you have had your shipments seized for intellectual property right violations, contact trade attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Short answer – a change to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 allowed CBP and the US General Services Administration to accept real and personal property, money and non-personal services from the private and public sectors. Accepted donations may be used for port of entry construction, alternations, operations and maintenance activities.
According to a February 15, 2018 Customs media release, Proctor and Gamble (P&G) will donate testing devices to CBP officers and trade specialists to assist in determining the legitimacy of the P&G product in an attempt to reduce counterfeit goods entering the US marketplace.
The media release did not specify the type of testing device; however, the testing devices may be related to a 2014 patent filed by P&G for a chemical test kit to test for the presence of active components and qualities of the product that may be missing from counterfeits.
The DAP from P&G may be related to last year’s counterfeit Tide laundry detergent being sold in Austin, Texas at a price far below retail value. The low cost of the product and packaging written in Vietnamese may have been indications of the counterfeit nature of the Tide detergent.
If your imported P&G products have been seized by Customs, contact your experienced customs seizure attorney, David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Above photo is a screengrab from the Customs website showing the seized children’s mini activity cubes.
As the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) functions as the USA’s border security agency – CBP enforces hundreds of laws from different agencies. For example, CBP may seize imported automotive parts that violate Department of Transportation regulations or CBP may seize counterfeit and tainted foods products that violate Food and Drug Administration rules.
On January 15th, CBP officers in Baltimore examined a shipment of toys valued at $5,600 from Hong Kong and submitted samples of the toys to the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). CBP officers initially sent this sample to the CPSC because the toys appeared to contain potential choking hazards.
CPSC subsequently tested the activity cubes and determined the toys violated the small parts requirement of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act [15 USC §1263]. A copy of the FHSA can be found at this link: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/fhsa.pdf
Unfortunately for this importer, they won’t be able to get their goods and may face further penalties from Customs. If you have had your imports seized by Customs due to DOT, CPSC, FDA or any of the other alphabet soup of government agency regulations, please call David Hsu at 832.896.6288, or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, free consultations.
