Tag Archives: luxury goods

Over $2 MM in counterfeit goods seized

February 3, 2022 By in Customs Lawyer, seizure notice, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Image of seized goods, source: CBP.gov

In early February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers In Chicago seized a shipment from Israel containing over $713,000 worth of counterfeit bracelets, rings, and necklaces from famous designer brands such as Cartier, LV and Versace.

Besides the shipment from Israel, Chicago’s CBP officers seized at lease one shipment a day containing counterfeit goods – bringing the January 2022 counterfeit seizure total of 29 shipments valued over $2.88 million, if authentic.

Besides bracelets, rings and necklaces, CBP officers seized counterfeit shoes, wallets, designer goods, and handbags. Shipments of counterfeit goods also arrived from other places such as China, Hong Kong, Russia, Thailand and Mexico.

If you have had your shipment seized for suspicion of being counterfeit – contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at anytime: 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

CBP seizes over $30 million in fake designer goods.

December 4, 2021 By in Notice of Seizure, trademark Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Image of seized goods, source: CBP.gov

According to a CBP media release, CBP officers at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport seized over 13,586 counterfeit designer products arriving from a shipment from China.

For goods suspected of being counterfeit, CBP officers will work with a Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) – in the instance of goods suspected to be counterfeit – CBP will work with the Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising (CPMM) CEE.

The CEE will typically send images or samples of detained merchandise to the trademark or intellectual property rights holder for verification whether the goods are authentic or not. In 99.99% of the time, the trademark holder will tell CBP/CEE the goods are not authentic.

In the instant seizure, the counterfeit goods included handbags, tote bags, shoulder bags, crossbody bags, backpacks, shirts, and pants displaying brand names such as Gucci, Chanel, Fendi, YSL and Louis Vuitton. If genuine, the seized goods would have a combined MSRP of approximately $30,473,775.

CBP officers examining a detained purse, source: CBP.gov

Typically after a seizure, CBP will issue a seizure notice to the Importer of Record. This seizure notice will be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested. If you have received a seizure notice, contact David Hsu for immediate assistance by phone or text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Fake luxury belts seized by Customs.

August 8, 2020 By in Customs Lawyer, Notice of Seizure, seizure notice, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Tags: , , , , Leave a comment
Seized “Gucci” belts, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Kentucky seized two shipments containing over 648 counterfeit belts. The above photo provided by CBP shows the belts had the Gucci logo – the shipment also included “Salvatore Ferragamo” belt buckles. If real, CBP says the belts have a retail value of $350,496.

Author’s note – CBP media releases usually go into detail about the description of the goods and the packaging or item quality that resulted in Customs questioning the authenticity of the goods. I believe Customs probably scrutinizes any shipment from Hong Kong that contains clothing or accessories.

If you have had your goods seized by Customs, give me a call, there might be something we can do to limit your legal liability. Call or text me anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

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

August 7, 2020 By in Attorney, CPSC, Import Export Attorney, IPR, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
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 seizes $317k in counterfeit goods.

March 10, 2020 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Image of seized purses, source: CBP.gov
Images of seized shoes, source: CBP.gov

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) press release, CBP officers counterfeit consumer goods near the Philadelphia International Airport. If authentic, the merchandise would have had a manufacturer suggested retail price of $317,080.

The shipment from Turkey was shipped to an address to Delaware County, PA and contained wallets, sneakers, shoes, handbags, hats and belts with designer labels from brands such as: Burberry, Channel, Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Moschino and Versace. CBP Officers detained the shipment due to poor quality and packaging of the merchandise.

While not mentioned in the press release – luxury goods from a country other than where they are made is also a strong indication the goods are counterfeit. The media release does mention the packaging many counterfeit products are contained in plastics bags.

While these shipments were from Turkey, the press release did mention China was still the source for counterfeit and pirated goods, about 66% of the estimated MSRP value of all counterfeit seizures.

 

Puerto Rico seizes counterfeit goods and currency.

February 7, 2020 By in Nike, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

patrick

Counterfeit Nike shoe, source: CBP.gov

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP Officers and Import Specialist seized over 130 shipments of counterfeit goods in January – including stacks of counterfeit currency.

As usual, the counterfeit goods included watches, jewelry, bags, clothing and sunglasses featuring brands such as Nike, Pandora, LV, Gucci, D&G, Rolex, Adidas and Cartier. If authentic, the total value of the entire seized shipments is $4.2 million. An image of the seized counterfeit Nike shoes is pictured above.

The currency seizure involved a  mail package from China labeled as “cards”, but upon inspection, CBP officers found the package contained counterfeit $100 bills.

If you are an importer and have had your shipments seized, contact experienced seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.