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.
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.
Images of seized 3-D of Bob Marley and the Joker. Source: CBP.gov
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection media release, CBP officers in Virginia seized counterfeit 3-D holographic pictures. The pictures contained images of Bob Marley and the Joker. The six Bob Marley photos and 80 Joker pictures arrived from China and were destined to an address in Kentucky.
CBP seized the shipment due to violations of trademarks for Bob Marley and the Joker. CBP’s Apparel, Footwear and Textiles CEE evaluated the shipment and the CEE trade experts seized the shipment for trademark violations.
Have you had your goods seized by CBP? Contact David Hsu 24/7 by phone/text: 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.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.
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.
Counterfeit goods seized by Customs; source: CBP.gov
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Virginia seized a shipment of designer dresses and shawls estimated to be worth more than $2 million dollars due to trademark violations. The shipment destined for Ohio contained counterfeit dresses, women’s slippers and shawls (see above photo of the actual seized items). The seizure included 1,120 garments for violating intellectual property rights from brands such as Gucci, Apple and Louis Vuitton. If authentic, the MSRP value of the shipment was worth $2.3 million dollars.
If you have had your shipment seized for IPR violations, contact David Hsu by phone/text/email at 832-896-6288 or attorney.dave@yahoo.com to discuss your options.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers in Louisville seized three packages from various shippers containing watches, bracelets, earrings, rings and necklaces that appear to be counterfeit.
They didn’t specify which air mail service, but Louisville is a major hub for DHL, UPS and FedEx flights from overseas.
The first shipment from Hong Kong were headed to Canada and contained watches bearing luxury marks such as Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Hublot among others. If authentic, the goods were valued at approximately $1.1 million.
The second seizure were composed of two packages and contained counterfeit jewelry – Tommy Hilfiger necklaces, Rolex bracelets, Gucci bracelets and rings and more. This shipment, also from Hong Kong, was headed to Miami. If real, the value of the seized goods totaled $1.19 million.
Lastly, the final parcel from the UAE contained a single Richard Mille watch with an MSRP of $2.25 million if authentic.
Typically, import specialists will detain shipments to verify with the trademark holder if the goods are authentic. From the media release, it appears Customs, in this instance, already pre-determined the goods were counterfeit. In general, Customs will seize any luxury branded good from Hong Kong that is poorly packaged and manufactured with poor quality. Most likely, the importer of record for all these shipments will receive a “Notice of Seizure” in a few weeks with a 30-day deadline (from the time of the seizure) to resolve the seizure. After 30-days, the goods are forfeited and a potential civil penalty will be issued to the importer of record.
If you have received a notice of seizure or have your goods detained, contact David Hsu by phone direct/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com; DH@GJATradeLaw.com.
