U.S. Customs and Border Protection Import Specialists and Officers Seize Counterfeit Jeans Valued at $193,800
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Jun 21, 2012, 0 Comments
Courtesy Richard Pauza,
Laredo, Texas – The Import Specialist Enforcement Team (ISET) at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Laredo Port of Entry seized a commercial shipment of jeans valued at $193,800 that was discovered to infringe on the Levi Strauss and Co. registered trademark.
In the enforcement action, CBP officers at World Trade Bridge selected a shipment of jeans for an enforcement examination. In the course of their examination, CBP officers and import specialists discovered possible infringement of the Levi, Strauss and Co. design trademark, which is trademark recorded with CBP. CBP’s Intellectual and Property Rights branch in Washington conducted a review and determined that the jeans bore a mark that was substantially indistinguishable from the Levi, Strauss and Co. registered design trademark and the shipment was found to be counterfeit. CBP subsequently seized 96 boxes containing 2,850 pairs of jeans. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price, had the trademarks been genuine, was $193,800.
CBP’s vigilant enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights protects America ’s businesses against the threat of unfair and illicit competition from foreign companies and prevents goods that may be dangerous to consumers or national security from entering the United States .
“I applaud the vigilance and tenacity of our CBP officers and import specialists who detected a possible IPR violation and upon further review were able to stop a shipment of nearly $200,000 in counterfeit jeans from entering the U.S. and undercutting the legitimate registered trademark holder,” said Sidney Aki, CBP port director, Laredo Port of Entry.
