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.
This past July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized shipments containing counterfeit merchandise bearing protected brands or trademarked logos of teams within Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), and the National Football League (NFL).
For example, CBP officers in Cincinnati 100 shipments containing counterfeit merchandise with a total Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $155,919. An additional 34 shipments were abandoned by the importers.
In the past year, the People’s Republic of China is the primary source of counterfeit and pirated goods seized in the U.S., accounting for a total estimated MSRP value of almost $1.8 billion (USD) and about 60% of the total estimated MSRP value of all seizures for intellectual property rights.
If you have had your goods seized for suspicion of being counterfeit, contact trade and customs attorney David Hsu by text/call at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Last year, the U.S Government, through the Department of Homeland Security implemented the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) under the authority of Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in an effort to eliminate goods suspected to be made with forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Customs has stopped about 4,300 shipments for UFLPA review and or enforcement of goods valued over $1.3 billion. Other statistics in the past year include 300 engagements with industry members, NGO’s, Congress and the media regarding the law. After one year, CBP is still committed to expand the UFLPA entity list of potential entities.
If you have an UFLPA issue, or want to take discuss UFLPA compliance and risk mitigation for your imports, contact David Hsu by text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, or DH@GJATradelaw.com.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers seized two shipments at the International Mail Facility near O’Hare International Airport. The shipments orginated from Thailand and were to be delivered to Alabama and Texas. The seizure of 451 pieces of jewelry, apparel would have been worth $686,000 if genuine and not counterfeit.
The counterfeit goods were marked with popular luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Rolex Watches and others.
CBP noted the poor packaging, low declared value and overall low quality as indicating the goods were counterfeit.
According to a mid-November U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release – a passenger headed from Dulles Airport to Egypt had over $33,000 in currency seized by CBP.
Prior to boarding the flight to Egypt, CBP officers asked the traveler the amount of currency in his possession while requiring the traveler to complete a U.S. Treasury Department form for reporting currency. At the time of questioning, the traveler told CBP and completed the form confirming he had $20,000. However, during a subsequent investigation of the passenger’s baggage, CBP officers discovered a total of $33,868. Officers seized the currency and released the traveler.
Not mentioned in the report is the traveler likely missed his flight as the baggage inspection process takes several hours and CBP will always stop passengers as the plane is boarding. Also not mentioned is whether the traveler received a small sum of money in return known as “humanitarian relief”. As it was not mentioned, I don’t believe CBP returned a portion of the seized funds to the traveler.
If you or someone you know has had their currency seized, contact customs seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.om; dh@gjatradelaw.com.
Image of seized “Beats” earphones, source: CBP.gov
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers in New York seized a shipment of counterfeit Beats brand earphones. The July shipment was selected and examined by CBP. Officers found the earphones packed in zip lock bags and bearing a strong resemblance to Beats “Tour” earphones.
CBP suspected the earphones to be counterfeit due to the lack of labels, invoices, and packaging. As with all counterfeit goods, a sample was submitted to the Electronics Center of Excellence and Expertise where it was determined the items were counterfeit and violated the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of the Beats brand holder. If authentic, the seized shipment were worth a MSRP of $25,000.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, in mid-July CBP officers in Indianapolis and Louisville seized 178 counterfeit championship rings and 171 counterfeit professional sports jerseys that, if genuine would have a combined MSRP of $288,350.
The seized items including a Championship rings featuring baseball teams such as the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and basketball teams such as the Boston Celtics and even collegiate teams from the University of Georgia.
The seized shipments all originated in China and were destined to various addresses in the US. CBP recognized the goods as counterfeit due to the poor quality of materials, poor printing and shipping the goods to residential addresses.
The remainder of the CBP media release highlighted the dangers of buying counterfeit goods and the belief counterfeit merchandise funds organized crime.
While I am sure counterfeit goods does fund organized crime, I believe the people who buy commercial quantities of counterfeit Championship rings are aware the rings are not authentic and purchase these for collecting, and not to re-sell as authentic.
If you or someone you know have had their goods seized for suspicion of being counterfeit, contact David Hsu at anytime by phone/text or email: attorney.dave@yahoo.com or 832-896-6288.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers in Virginia seized nearly 120,000 pairs of counterfeit socks frequently purchased by diabetic patients. The MSRP, if authentic, totals over $1.8 million. CBP verified whether the Hugh Ugoli branded cotton socks from Turkey contained the “Seal of Cotton” trademark. CBP officers verified the shipment with CBP’s Apparel, Footwear and Textiles Centers of Excellence and Expertise, for a final authenticity determination and an appraisal. CBP’s trade exports found the entire shipment was counterfeit for violating the “Seal of Cotton” trademark.
In general, products with the Seal of Cotton trademark, owned and licensed exclusively by Cotton Incorporated, are evaluated based on the cotton content in their product. Licensees of the “Seal of Cotton” must have all artwork and packaging bearing the “Seal of Cotton” trademark approved prior to manufacturing and distribution.
If you have had your shipment seized by CBP for violating the “Seal of Cotton” or other trademarks such as the iPhone, Android, USB, HDMI or any other trademark logo – contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Image of seized counterfeit watches, source: CBP.gov
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers in Kentucky seized a shipment of 585 counterfeit designer watches bearing trademark logos for Rolex and Cartier. The shipment from Hong Kong was headed for a New York address, and if real, would be worth approximately $22.6 million.
The seizure of counterfeit watches totaled over $1.18 billion (MSRP) last year and will likely increase due to the large number of electronic commerce sales from China being imported into the United States.
If you have had your shipment seized for suspicion of being a counterfeit good, contact customs seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text/email at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Partial image of the over 460 seized “Rolex” watches. Source: CBP.gov
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), media release, CBP officers seized over 460 counterfeit watches in late April from multiple shipments.
The two shipments seized originated from Hong Kong and were to be delivered to an individual home in Brooklyn. The CBP media release mentioned the address has a history of receiving counterfeit goods. Most likely CBP singled out these shipments and upon further inspection found a total of 460 counterfeit Rolex watches with a combined MSRP over $10 million if authentic.
If you have had your goods seized by Customs, or if you receive a notice from Customs detaining or seizing your goods, contact David Hsu anytime by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
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:
Don’t lie to CBP and never sign anything that is not truthful.
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.
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.
