Tag: seizure

CBP Reminds Public About Currency Reporting Requirement

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on December 23, 2014

In the past month we have reported on two violations of the currency reporting requirements that resulted in seizure of money by U.S. Customs & Border Protection at the CBP pre-clearance station in Nassau, Bahamas. Those stories are HERE and HERE. Now we have a “reminder” about the “Currency Reporting Requirement” from that same pre-clearance station, which is excerpted below.

If you have had money seized by customs call our office at (734) 855-4999 or CONTACT US BY CLICKING HERE to speak to a customs lawyer. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs nationwide, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. cbp money seizure

NASSAU, Bahamas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection reminds travelers of the requirement to report currency amounts of $10,000 or more to CBP when traveling to or from the United States.

Individuals are permitted to carry any amount of currency or monetary instruments into or out of the United States; however, if the quantity is $10,000 or higher, they must formally report the currency to CBP (note: like the money seizure story HERE). If travelers have someone else carry the currency or monetary instrument for them, they must file a currency report for the entire amount with (note: like the structuring story HERE). Failure to report may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest.

“The easiest way for travelers to hold on to their currency is to truthfully report it all to a CBP officer,” said Robert Allen Smith, area port director for Nassau Preclearance.

There’s a lot of great reasons why you should hire our firm, but one of them is that we know the law: you may not know the law, and oftentimes, as this article shows, customs does not know the law. Annoyingly, this CBP news release, like many, gets the law wrong. 31 USC 5316(a)(1), the law that gives CBP the authority to seize money and monetary instruments which are not reported, clearly says that a report is required if only if “more than $10,000” is transported, not $10,000 “or more”.

Having an attorney is especially important if more than one person was travelling and the seizure was of cash, there are allegations of smuggling, or structuring, or if you experienced a lengthy dentetion or questioning at the time of seizure. We handle this and many other types of cases, which we publish the results of here. Read our popular article on responding to a currency seizure by clicking HERE.

Please read these other articles about money seizures by customs:

U.S. Customs Seizes Bulk Cash from 23 y/o US Citizen

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on November 30, 2014

In a currency seizure reported by U.S. Customs, customs seized over $250k 23 year old man headed into Mexico. No mention of an arrest, but just an ongoing investigation. This seizure is probably based on both bulk cash smuggling and failure to report. Both carry criminal consequences. Customs also gets the law wrong, as we explained below, which is a great reason to hire a lawyer for your customs money seizure case. Let’s have a look at the always-interesting-facts in this currency seizure story to see what the person did wrong that caused this encounter to end up as another customs airport money seizure:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound enforcement operations at the Brownsville Port of Entry seized $259,750 in bulk U.S. currency. [ . . . ] Stacks of varying denominations totaling $259,750 in undeclared currency seized by CBP officers and agents recently at Brownsville Port of Entry.

On Nov. 24, CBP officers working outbound enforcement operations at the Gateway International Bridge came in contact with a silver 2007 Volkswagen Jetta as it attempted to exit the United States and enter Mexico. The driver, a 23-year-old United States citizen from Brownsville, Texas was referred to secondary for further inspection. In secondary, a search of the Jetta resulted in the discovery of two packages of bulk U.S. currency hidden within the vehicle. CBP officers seized the currency the vehicle and the case had been referred to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation. [ . . . ]

It is not a crime to carry more than $10,000, but it is a federal offense not to declare currency or monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or more to a CBP officer upon entry or exit from the U.S. or to conceal it with intent to evade reporting requirements. Failure to declare may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest. An individual may petition for the return of currency seized by CBP officers, but the petitioner must prove that the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate.

If this guy could prove the money came from a legitimate source and had a legitimate intended use, then this customs cash seizure was completely avoidable. Near the bottom of this story customs states that the law requires that a person file a formal report of “$10,000 or higher” into or out of the United States. That is incorrect. The law requires reports of more than $10,000. If even customs doesn’t know the law, you are better of hiring an attorney.

Our customs law firm handles currency/money seizures made by customs in Detroit and around the country; call (734) 855-4999 to consult with a customs lawyer today (you can read our popular page on Responding to a Customs Money Seizure HERE).If you have had money seized by Detroit CBP/customs call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page (see our case results here). We are able to assist with cash seized by customs nationwide, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Orlando.

Please read these other articles customs currency seizures:

U.S. Customs Seizure of $2M in Counterfeit Handbags

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on November 6, 2014

Customs made another high value seizure of counterfeit merchandise being imported into the United States with infringing trademarks under 19 USC 1526. Customs seized 198 counterfeit “Hermes Birkin” handbags that they allege infringe the a trademark. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price, if the counterfeits were genuine, is $1,861,200. That is what the penalty amount will be calculated from.

We previously discussed, in a two article series, the dangers of importing counterfeit trademark merchandise into the United States, how it can result in seizure, monetary penalties, and how the importer can defend it. This story underscores the importance of everything we discussed in those articles: Importing Counterfeit Trademarks – Customs Seizures & Penalties; Part 1 and Part 2 (click to read).

SAVANNAH, Ga. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations at the Port of Savannah, Ga., seized 198 counterfeit Hermès Birkin handbags October 6. Had the goods been genuine Hermès Birkin handbags, CBP import specialists estimated that the merchandise would have had an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $1,861,200.

This seizure is the Port of Savannah’s third multi-million dollar seizure of counterfeit goods this year.

The shipment, manifested as polyurethane handbags, arrived to the Port of Savannah September 4 from China. It was destined to an address in Atlanta.

“Counterfeit goods pose a potentially serious safety threat to consumers and economic loss to U.S. businesses,” said Lisa Beth Brown, Area Port Director in Savannah, Georgia. Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) remains a top trade priority for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”

The counterfeit handbags will be destroyed. In July, CBP officers seized 377 cartons of counterfeit sunglasses with an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $1,619,550. … In April, CBP officers seized more than $1 million in counterfeit soccer apparel.

Importing counterfeit items into the United States is a very serious matter. First, it is very likely that after seizure the property will be forfeited and destroyed by the U.S. government if, in fact, they are violative of the trademark laws.

Once forfeiture is perfected, the person who caused the importation will probably get a notice of penalty from U.S. Custom & Border Protection in the mail for the equivalent of the value of the products if they were real. The importer will have a chance to respond to customs’ notice of penalty with the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures office by filing a petition for mitigation and ask customs to reduce the penalty based on the presence of certain mitigating factors that customs particularly looks for. Great Lakes Customs Law has been very successful in getting these kinds of penalties reduced and, sometimes, even eliminated entirely. If the person fails to pay the penalty, the government can bring a lawsuit in federal district court to recover the penalty in the form of a judgment, after which point the government can lien property, garnish bank accounts, and seize property.

If you have had money or merchandise seized by customs because they allege it is counterfeit and contains trademark violations, call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist petitions for customs seizures nationwide.

CBP Seizes $1.3M Worth of Counterfeit Toys

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on October 23, 2014

This is an odd story about a counterfeit seizure case because it’s unclear how customs determined the value of the seizure. Typically, the value of counterfeit seized merchandise is based on it’s MSRP; in other words, what the cost of the goods would be if they were genuine. In this case, the reason the product is counterfeit is an alleged “UL” logo — on what would otherwise be allowed imports, apparently. Is customs valuing the added value of the UL mark? It is a point I would raise in any petition filed for mitigation of the penalty. The importers should expect to receive a notice of penalty from customs in the next few months.

Laredo, Texas – The Import Specialist Enforcement Team (ISET) at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Laredo Port of Entry seized a total of 18 commercial shipments of counterfeit rechargeable toys over the summer, for allegedly infringing on the Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) registered and recorded U.S. trademark. The total value of the shipments is nearly $1.3 million.

In the 18 enforcement actions, recently finalized, CBP import specialists from World Trade Bridge selected shipments of rechargeable toys for examination. During the examinations, CBP import specialists noticed that the battery chargers accompanying each rechargeable toy all bore the UL trademark, which is a U.S. registered trademark recorded with CBP. ISET conducted a review and discovered that the shipments lacked legal authorization documentation to use the recorded trademark A lead enforcement manager for UL confirmed that the use of their trademark was unauthorized and infringing on their recorded trademark. Given the foregoing, CBP’s ISET determined that the rechargeable toys in the shipments seized bore counterfeit trademarks and were subject to seizure. In these 18 enforcement actions, from late June to early September 2014, CBP subsequently seized a total of 4,671 rechargeable toys, which, had the trademark been genuine, is valued based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, in the amount of $1,292,953.00.

“Our ISET has done it again and through their diligence and attention to detail they prevented toys with chargers baring a counterfeit trademark from entering U.S. commerce and potentially causing harm to children,” said Joseph Misenhelter, CBP port director, Laredo Port of Entry. “Preserving Intellectual Property Rights and import safety are priority trade issues for CBP and our enforcement of these laws helps create a level playing field for all and strengthens the U.S. economy.”

How would you like to cough up $1.3 million for importing goods that bear a counterfeit logo into the United States? Like we have explained previously, this importer stands to face a hefty penalty for this customs counterfeit seizure.

You might be facing penalties from customs for importing counterfeit merchandise. We can help. Typically, we recommended preparing and filing a petition, with the assistance of legal counsel, which argues persuasively for the substantial mitigation, or when the facts and law warrant it, cancellation of the penalty in full.

Great Lakes Customs Law has been very successful in getting these kinds of penalties reduced and, sometimes, even eliminated entirely (some history of our success is HERE).If you have had merchandise seized by customs because they allege it is counterfeit and contains trademark violations and/or have a received a notice of penalty for importing alleged counterfeits or for making an importation contrary to law, call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist petitions for customs penalties and seizures around the country, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places. Please read these other articles:

Customs Seizure of Fake Toys & Purses valued at $500k

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on October 16, 2014

How would you like to cough up a half million dollars for importing counterfeit and infringing goods into the United States? Like we have explained previously, this importer stands to face a hefty penalty — around $500,000 – for this customs counterfeit seizure of fake toys and purses from China.

People fail to grasp the consequences of importing counterfeits. The reason might be a failure see the harm that it causes to the owner of the trademark, by confusing their purchasers and destroying a reputation for quality, or just not caring about the consequences in quest for making themselves some money. To those and others, I say: Consult a customs attorney who is well acquainted with the laws enforced by the customs service and who can judge the legality of the transaction, even getting advice from customs in advance.

The importers should expect to receive a notice of penalty from customs in the next few months. Here is the story:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers . . . seized over 200 counterfeit handbags and nearly 50 packages of plastic building blocks, Sept. 29, with an estimated Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price of more than $500,000.

“Intercepting counterfeit goods protects the trademark holder, the unsuspecting consumer, and strengthens the U.S. economy,” said Houston CBP Area Port Director Dave Fluty. “Import safety and protecting intellectual property rights are priority trade issues. We will take every opportunity to intercept counterfeit goods entering through this port.”

The shipment, which originated from China, was manifested as bags, plastic toys and jewelry. However, when CBP officers examined the shipment, cartons of women’s handbags bearing counterfeit Prada, Christian Dior, Michael Kors, and other name brands were discovered. Also in the shipment were cartons of plastic building blocks bearing the Lego brand.

CBP officers provided images of the items to the different trademark holders who each confirmed that the imported handbags and building blocks were counterfeit and confusingly similar to the genuine brand. The import specialists determined the MSRP value of the goods. The seized items, which were enroute to a Houston store, will be destroyed.

Homeland Security Investigations is investigating.

Last year, CBP seized more than $4.7 million in intellectual property rights violations nationwide. Handbags and wallets were the highest valued seized goods with an MSRP estimate of more than $700 million, up from more than $500 million in 2012.

To enforce intellectual property rights, CBP relies on trademark owners registering with the Patent and Trademark Office and by recording the trade name with CBP at e-Recordation.

The trademark holder confirmed they were both counterfeit and confusingly similar? That’s impossible. A counterfeit is something that is indistinguishable, and something that is confusingly similar is considered “infringing” and not a counterfeit. And again, that’s another reason why you need a lawyer to respond to this type of customs actions: oftentimes, customs doesn’t even fully understand what laws they are enforcing!

CBP Seizes Money Over $2M; Why You Need A Lawyer

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on October 9, 2014

Sometimes people ask if they should hire a customs lawyer to get their money back that was seized by customs or if they can do it themselves. There’s a lot of great reasons why you should hire our firm, but one of them is that we know the law: you may not know the law, and oftentimes, as this article shows, customs does not know the law. The blind lead the blind off a cliff. A perfect example is that near the bottom of this story customs states that the law requires that a person file a formal report of “$10,000 or higher” into or out of the United States. That is incorrect. The law requires reports of more than $10,000.

Let’s get on to this story of a bulk cash smuggler and currency seizure case in Puerto Rico that netted CBP more than 2 million (original here): customs money seizure

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting ferry outbound operations at the San Juan Seaport seized more than $2 million Monday evening. The money was found in hidden compartments inside a truck [note: bulk cash smuggling] that was leaving Puerto Rico en route to the Dominican Republic onboard M/V Caribbean Fantasy ferry.

CBP personnel selected a truck with Puerto Rico license plates for an intensive examination after a preliminary non-intrusive inspection revealed certain anomalies. Subsequently a physical inspection revealed 22 bundles of hidden US Currency for an amount of $2,044,375. CBP officers seized the currency and took custody of the driver. He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE- HSI) special agents in connection with the failed smuggling attempt and the US Attorney’s Office accepted the case for federal prosecution.

“CBP Officers conduct outbound examinations of passengers and cargo leaving the country in an effort to stop guns, ammunition and unreported currency from being smuggled out of the country. Their diligence paid off in this enforcement action,” said Juan Hurtado, San Juan Area port director. “The unreported cash [note: smuggled more than unreported!] that we seize has an impact on the criminal organizations by making it more difficult for them to further their illicit activities.”

Individuals are permitted to carry any amount of currency or monetary instruments into or out of the U.S. However, if the quantity is $10,000 or higher [note: see below], they must formally report the currency to CBP. Failure to report may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest.

Having an attorney is especially important if more than one person was traveling and the seizure was of cash, there are allegations of smuggling, or structuring, or if you experienced a lengthy detention or questioning at the time of seizure. We handle this and many other types of cases, which we publish the results of here. Read our popular article on responding to a currency seizure by clicking HERE.

San Juan CBP officers seize counterfeit electronics

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on September 16, 2014

Many fail to grasp the importance of CBP seizures of counterfeit merchandise, and many fail to grasp they are liable for purchases made on the Internet that involve the importation of goods into the United States customs territory. It causes the trademark holder harm, confuses the purchasers, steals money from consumers who overpay for fakes, and destroy a reputation for brand quality. Some counterfeits, like electronics with a fake testing laboratory certifications, or those missing legally required safety features, are simply dangerous.

The story that follows perfectly demonstrates the reasons why customs seizes counterfeits and often penalizes people who import them, my comments are in [brackets] (original story HERE):

The Internet has made it easy to find and purchase items from almost anywhere in the world [NOTE: Something we talked about in Customs Liability for Internet Purchases – CLICK HERE]. With a high demand for well-known brands, many online vendors sell counterfeit products online, infringing on various trademark holder’s rights and revenues.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Juan Field Operations officers and import specialists seized this past weekend various courier consignments that contained counterfeit speakers, car beepers [??], iPhone parts, cell phone front screens, USB cables and writs-watches [seizure of counterfeit iPhone and Apple parts is a popular past-time of CBP].

Various consignments inspected by CBP officers at the San Juan Air Cargo facility, revealed products that infringed the intellectual property rights of Dr. Dre beats, Pandora, Samsung, BMW, Belkin and Disney trademarks. The products were shipped from vendors in China and Hong Kong. “The trade in these illegitimate goods is associated with smuggling and other criminal activities, and often funds criminal enterprises”, stated Area Port Director Juan Hurtado. “Protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) remains a CBP priority trade issue.”

Consumers seek and purchase particular brands of products, believing that such brands have an intrinsic guarantee of their quality. Without a brand to protect, counterfeiters just seek to produce superficial quality products and take advantage of the loyalty that consumers have for a branded product. Poor quality products end up destroying the reputation of the copied brand, when it becomes impossible to distinguish the real product from a counterfeit.

The last paragraph raises an interested question that I haven’t found a client willing to argue before customs yet: what happens when the products aren’t counterfeits, but are gray market goods that the trademark holder does not want imported into the United States? In other words, what happens when people inside the factory where genuine goods are made take some product out the backdoor and sell it online, and it gets imported into the United States? That’s an interesting question indeed….

Like we have explained previously, anytime your imports violate the law you face a hefty penalty for a CBP counterfeit seizure. We can help you if you are facing penalties from CBP for importing counterfeit trademarked merchandise. Great Lakes Customs Law has been very successful in getting these kinds of penalties reduced and, sometimes, even eliminated entirely (some history of our success is HERE).

Call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or CONTACT US HERE. We are able to assist petitions for customs penalties and seizures around the country, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places. Consult a customs lawyer who is well acquainted with the laws enforced by the customs service and who can judge the legality of the transaction, by even getting a prospective ruling from customs in advance.

Please read these CBP counterfeit seizure articles:

Million Dollar Week for Customs Currency Seizures

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on September 11, 2014

Our customs currency seizure clients typically aren’t the type of people who smuggle hundreds of thousands of dollars across the border as part of some crime (see our typical cases here), and so the amounts of seized currency we typically see don’t quite reach the proportions of these recent CBP currency seizures in Arizona that netted CBP of more than a half million bucks. If these people could prove they weren’t up to no-good by showing the money came from a legitimate source and had a legitimate intended use, then this seizure of their money was completely avoidable. Read our popular information on responding to a currency seizure by clicking HERE.

Just look at this story below: Customs Currency Seizure

TUCSON, Ariz. – One week after seizing almost half a million dollars in unreported U.S. currency at a crossing in Nogales, Arizona, port officials apprehended a 25-year-old Mexican national Sunday for failing to declare more than $190,000 when he attempted to cross into Mexico through the Port of Nogales.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound inspections at the Mariposa crossing selected a vehicle driven by Luis Yovanni De La Herran-Zamudio for further inspection and found the unreported money hidden beneath his vehicle’s rear hatch.

Officers processed the vehicle and currency for seizure, and referred De La Herran to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

On Aug. 16, officers at the DeConcini crossing seized $420,000 from a male resident of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

Easy come, easy go. Let’s be realistic, the currency was more than just “un-reported” as the story says: it was completely concealed (hello, bulk cash smuggling violations). And since the man was arrested, we reasonably guess there were some truly suspicious circumstances beyond just an inadvertent failure to file a currency report.

But now, even if criminal charges were not filed or if they are ultimately found not guilty of a crime they may still face civil forfeiture of the money. They will have to fight for its return administratively, or in the courts. If you have had cash seized by customs and are contemplating what to do next, please make use of the other information available on this website or call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit.

Read these other articles about customs currency seizures:

Customs Seizure & Penalty for Counterfeits and Uncertified Engines

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on August 21, 2014

Importing is a tricky business that presents a trap for the novice. You may think you can import merchandise that can be used to make a few quick dollars on because of a high profit margin. The story below falls into that category.

This person attempted to import 300 Wii controllers, 400 USB convertors, and 200 small motorcycle engines. If successful, there was some money to be made. But the problem was the Wii controllers and USB converters were counterfeit, and the 200 small motorcycle engines lacked an important EPA certification.

The consequences? Customs seized the counterfeits and the small motorcycle engines are an importation contrary to law because of the failure to have certification by the EPA.

PORTAL, N.D. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently targeted a rail container at the port of Portal, North Dakota. In February 2014, CBP officers inspected the rail container and discovered merchandise that violated multiple laws and regulations. The merchandise consisted of approximately 300 counterfeit Wii remote controllers, 400 counterfeit USB converters and 200 small motorcycle engines that were not certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

CBP determined that the trademark was counterfeit on the Wii remote controllers and USB converters. As a result, CBP seized those items. The counterfeit merchandise had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $20,800. In addition, CBP seized the small engines that were found not to be certified, as required by the EPA. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the engines was $16,400.

“CBP continues to play a key role in Intellectual Property Rights enforcement,” said Brent Beeter, the Port Director in Portal. “CBP continues to stay focused on combating the illegitimate trade in counterfeit products.”

Stopping the flow of illicit goods is a Priority Trade Issue for CBP. The importation of counterfeit merchandise can damage the U.S. economy, and threaten the health and safety of the American people.

With the growth of foreign trade, unscrupulous companies have profited billions of dollars from the sale of counterfeit and pirated goods. To combat the illicit trade of merchandise violating laws relating to intellectual property rights (IPR), trademark and copyright holders may register with CBP through an online system. Such registration assists CBP officers and import specialists in identifying violative merchandise.

CBP’s IPR enforcement strategy is multi-layered and includes seizing violative merchandise at our borders, pushing the border “outward” through audits of suspect importers, cooperating with our international trading partners, and collaborating with industry and governmental agencies to enhance these efforts.

Many fail to grasp the importance of customs seizing counterfeit or uncertified merchandise. The reason might be a failure see the harm that it causes to the owner of the trademark, by confusing their purchasers and destroying a reputation for quality, or just not caring about the consequences in quest for making themselves some money. To those and others, I say: Consult a customs attorney who is well acquainted with the laws enforced by the customs service and who can judge the legality of the transaction, even getting advice from customs in advance.

You might be facing penalties from customs for importing counterfeit trademarked merchandise or for importations contrary to law. We can help. You can pay the penalty or, as we recommend, file a petition for mitigation to ask for a reduction in the penalty. Once the notice of penalty is sent, the recipient has either 30 days to pay the penalty or file a detailed petition arguing the legal bases for further mitigation (reduction) or cancellation of the penalty. We recommended preparing and filing a petition, with the assistance of legal counsel, which argues persuasively for the substantial mitigation, or when the facts and law warrant it, cancellation of the penalty in full. Great Lakes Customs Law has been very successful in getting these kinds of penalties reduced and, sometimes, even eliminated entirely (some history of our success is HERE).

If you have had merchandise seized by customs because they allege it is counterfeit and contains trademark violations and/or have a received a notice of penalty for importing alleged counterfeits or for making an importation contrary to law, call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist petitions for customs penalties and seizures around the country, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places. Please read these other articles:

Customs Seizure & Penalties for Fake & Faulty Hairdryers

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on August 19, 2014

Many fail to grasp the importance of customs seizing counterfeit merchandise. The reason might be a failure see the harm that it causes to the owner of the trademark, by confusing their purchasers and destroying a reputation for quality. Another reason might be because they never got scammed into buying a product at full price… only to find out it is a worthless counterfeit. But sometimes counterfeits are dangerous. Like electronics with a fake testing laboratory certifications, or those missing legally required safety features. The story that follows perfectly demonstrates the reasons why customs seizes counterfeits and often penalizes people who import them (original HERE):

HOUSTON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized nearly 5,000 hair dryers as the required Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters that

Images from Seizure

protect consumers from electrical shock or electrocution hazards were missing. The hair dryers, which originated from China, have a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of almost $330,000. “This seizure is the latest example of the vigilance and attention to detail our officers pay to protect consumers from imported goods

Image for Seizure

that pose a dangerous risk,” said CBP Houston Area Port Director Dave Fluty. During an examination of the shipment, officers found the dryers missing the immersion protection plug and bearing a suspect trademark logo. Officers coordinated with Consumer Product Safety Commission and with the CBP Intellectual Property Rights Rights [sic] Branch, Regulations and Rulings, Office of International Trade to verify authenticity. The CBP IPR Branch confirmed the products were counterfeit, and a CPSC evaluation of product samples concluded the required immersion protection plug was missing resulting in the seizure of the entire shipment that contained more than 400 boxes of the faulty articles. According to CPSC, consumers should look for a large, rectangular-shaped plug at the end of the hair dryer cord indicating the presence of a GFCI. The certification mark of a recognized testing laboratory should also be visible on the hair dryer or on the hair dryer’s packaging.

The individual who caused the importation is now liable to customs for penalties for 1) importing counterfeits into the United States under 19 USC 1526 and 2) importations contrary to law under 19 USC 1595a, because there was no GFCI on the hairdryers. It will prove to be a costly mistake. As we have previously explained, the penalties for the trademark violation are equivalent to the MSRP of genuine articles, or in this case almost $330,000; the penalties for importations contrary to law is equivalent to the domestic value of the imported merchandise, which is likely far less than the $330,000 figure and equivalent to, more or less, the price actually paid for the merchandise. I am sure any penalty in this case will be for at least $330,000.