U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Baltimore recently seized 2,990 stainless steel sinks for displaying a counterfeit UPC shield design that, if authentic, would have a suggested retail price of approximately $1.1 million.
The shipment of sinks arrived in Baltimore from Malaysia and was headed to an address in Maryland.
CBP examined the shipment for Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties enforcement and discovered the UPC shield logo. CBP officers and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) specialists consulted with the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, the registered trademark holder, and determined that the use of the logo was unauthorized.
“Customs and Border Protection will continue to work closely with our trade and consumer safety partners to seize counterfeit and inferior merchandise, especially those products that pose potential harm to American consumers, negatively impact legitimate business brand reputations, and potentially steal jobs from U.S. workers,” Dianna Bowman, Baltimore CBP area port director, said.
In fiscal year (FY) 2016, CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seized a record number of goods that violated Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in FY2016. The number of IPR seizures grew by nice percent in FY2016 to more than 31,560 and would have had a suggested retail price of more than $1.38 billion if authentic.
“The theft of intellectual property and the trade in substandard and often dangerous goods threatens America’s innovation economy and consumer health and safety, and it generates proceeds that fund criminal activities and organized crime,” Casey Owen Durst, CBP’s field operations director in Baltimore, the agency’s operational commander in the Mid-Atlantic region, said. “Intellectual property rights enforcement is a Customs and Border Protection priority trade issue, and a mission that we take seriously.”