Did you purchase ANY merchandise on your overseas trip? Be sure to declare it.

Sample of seized goods from traveler arriving from Thailand, source: CBP.gov

According to a CBP media release, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Dulles Airport seized consumer goods from an individual flying back into the US after a trip to Thailand.

The passenger was flying to Dulles on a flight from South Korea. When clearing Customs at Dulles, CBP officers asked her if she purchased any merchandise on her trip.

In response, she declared in writing and verbally that she did not purchase any items and was returning from Thailand with six pieces of luggage. However, when CBP performed a secondary inspection, they found and seized over 298 counterfeit items among 12 pieces of luggage belonging to the passenger. The total value of the goods, if authentic totaled over $500,000.

She stated that she returned from Thailand with six pieces of luggage, but declared, both verbally and in writing, that she did not purchase any merchandise on her trip.

She stated that she returned from Thailand with six pieces of luggage, but declared, both verbally and in writing, that she did not purchase any merchandise on her trip. However, when airline employees brought the woman’s baggage to the CBP inspection area, they examined 12 bags that were tagged to the traveler. After examining the bags, CBP found 298 pieces of clothing, hats, shoes and jewelry with marks from brand names such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Burberry, Prada, Gianni Versace and others.

After the seizure, experts from the Center for Excellence and Expertise determined the goods were counterfeit. Counterfeit goods were then seized by Customs.

This media release is a good reminder for travelers to:

  1. Don’t lie to CBP and never sign anything that is not truthful.
  2. If you are asked about quantity of any items or value of currency – be sure to over estimate. There is no duty and no cost to bring in currency or monetary instruments – but you must declare it.
  3. CBP likely already knows the answers to their questions before they search you and before they ask you any questions. CBP has access to passenger information and has developed profiles on passengers and certain metrics they use to determine which passenger gets secondary screening.

If you or anyone you know has had your goods seized by Customs, contact customs seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Over $9 million worth of counterfeit designer goods seized in Texas.

CBP officers examining 1 of the 148 boxes, source: CBP.gov

Dallas CBP officers at the Dallas/Fort Worth port of entry seized a shipment of counterfeit designer merchandise for China and destined for an address in McKinney, Texas.

CBP claims in their media release their “experience” led them to a perform an examination on the shipment contained in 148 boxes.

CBP’s “experience” is more “common sense” – if your shipment is from China and mentions clothing, watches, shoes, phones, electronics – Customs will take a second look and assume everything with a brand is counterfeit.

Within the 148 boxes, Customs officials found goods bearing trademarks from Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Yeezy among others. Customs look at the quality of the item and the poor packaging to determine the likelihood a good is counterfeit.

Besides visual confirmation a good is likely counterfeit, Customs may also send images or samples of the goods to the trademark holders to verify authenticity – and 10 out of 10 times the trademark holder will say the goods are counterfeit.

If you have had your goods detained or seized, contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-288 or by email to: attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Louisville CBP seized over $109M in counterfeits in 2020.

Image of seized goods, source: CBP.gov

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, in the fiscal year ending September 30th, CBP officers in Louisville seized over $109 million worth of counterfeit goods.

The $109 million in seized goods was accumulated during the 741 counterfeit seizures made among 343 shipments with 46% of the counterfeit goods being imported in Hong Kong. The media release also said seized goods included jewelry, footwear, bags, wallets and electronics.

If you or anyone you know has had their goods detained by Customs, contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

$5.5 million in fake Gucci, Instagram and Facebook clothing seized.

Seized goods, source: CBP.gov

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.

CBP officers seize counterfeit televisions.

Televisions

Image of seized television, source: CBP.gov

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers at Minneosta’s International Falls Port of Entry inspected a rail container and found 440 televisions that violated intellectual property rights (IPR) regulations. If genuine, the MSRP of the goods would retail for approximately $175,560.

*****

The CBP media release did not specify what IPR violations occurred. Judging by the photo above provided by Customs, I suspect there may be two issues:

(1) The USB logo is used, however, the manufacturer of this TV may not have been qualified to display the certified USB logo.

(2) I think the main reason is the use of the “HDMI” logo on the box. The HDMI logo, and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered trademarks to HDMI Licensing, LLC.

Based on what’s on the press release, there are several options for the importer of record. If you have had any goods seized by Customs, contact customs seizure attorney David Hsu anytime by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

CBP seizes $850k in counterfeit goods.

Gucci Wallet

Counterfeit “Gucci” wallet, source: cbp.gov

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, overnight CBP officers in Kentucky seized six packages containing goods that violated Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violations. In other words, the DHL hub for air shipments from China contained a lot of fake goods.

According to the media release, CBP officers found fake Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Pokemon toys and Rolex watches. If authentic, the value of the goods totaled approximately $859,010.

If you have had your shipment seized for suspicion of counterfeit goods, contact experienced seizure attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

CBP seizes counterfeit electronic door locks.

electronic locks

Image of seized counterfeit locks, source: cbp.gov

According to a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers inspected a rail container and discovered electronic locks in violation of intellectual property rights (IPR) regulations. The seizure consister of 3,856 counterfeit locks with an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $760,841 if the goods had been genuine.

The counterfeit locks are the Lockly brand and typically retail for about $279.99 each.

The remainder of the press releases explained that illicit goods damage the US economy and threaten the health and safety of Americans.

If you have had your imports seized by Customs, contact experienced seizure attorney David Hsu – we can help fight to get your imports back – call 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

 

Customs seizes $4.4 million in counterfeit products in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

counterfeit seizure

Images of the seized items. Source: CBP.gov

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) news release – Customs agents in Puerto Rico seized counterfeit products with an estimated msrp of $15 million dollars with an actual purchase price of $4.4 million.

In another seizure, CBP officers conducted a 6-day operation in January where they seized 73 packages with intellectual property rights violations totaling $1.8 million.

In a 6-day special operation this January, CBP officers intercepted 73 packages with IPR violations valued at an estimated MSRP of $1. 8 million.

The seized items included counterfeit watches, jewelry, bags, clothing, sunglasses and featured luxury brands such as Pandora, Tous, Nike, Rolex, Hublot, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc.

The rest of the news releases restates the danger of using and buying counterfeit goods and the impact of counterfeit goods on business revenue while also saying the proceeds from counterfeit purchases fund illicit businesses.

If you have a customs seizure for alleged IPR violations, contact experienced seizure attorney David Hsu at attorney.dave@yahoo.com or call/text: 832-896-6288.

US ICE seizes million websites in crackdown on

airbag background black and white close up

Photo by Dietmar Janssen on Pexels.com

As reported by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website in late November, ICE agents seized over 1 million copyright-infringing website domain names that sold counterfeit electrical parts, personal care items, automotive parts and other fake and counterfeit goods.

The seizure was part of ICE’s “Operation In Our Sites” and roughly 33,600 website domain names were seized from 26 different countries. The press release indicates that a total of 1.21 million domain names were seized and shut down along with 2.2 million e-commerce links on social media platforms and other third-party marketplaces.

ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) claims counterfeit goods such as counterfeit airbags and sensors pose a potential safety hazard to drivers. In addition to a public safety hazard, counterfeit goods also fund criminal groups and other illegal activities. ICE and HSI are part of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) center established by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. The IPR is comprised of 24 member agencies that share information, develop initiatives and conduct investigations.

If you have had your goods seized for alleged intellectual property rights violations, contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com for immediate assistance.