CBP Seizes Counterfeit DVDs at California Border
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials today announced the seizure of a single truckload containing more than 6,300 counterfeit DVDs last month at the Otay Mesa cargo export facility.
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At about 9 a.m. on February 11, a CBP officer processing trucks exporting cargo out of the United States into Mexico pulled aside a shipment of DVD movies.
Upon closer inspection of the DVDs, the officer suspected that they could be counterfeit, and pulled a sample for review by a CBP import specialist. There were several DVD trademarks on the movie cartons, but they appeared to be of very poor quality.
The import specialist determined that all 6,372 movies were, in fact, counterfeit and had no legal authority to include the trademarked “DVD” logo. CBP seized the 215 boxes of movies—representing a domestic value of $16,747 and a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $44,604.
“In addition to preventing illegal narcotics from entering the U.S. and protecting U.S. agriculture from pests and diseases, CBP cargo operations also protect legitimate trade flows at ports of entry across the country,” said Rosa Hernandez, port director at the Otay Mesa cargo facility. “We enforce intellectual property rights laws and seize counterfeit merchandise, as well as enforce anti-dumping and numerous other trade laws.”
An important part of the CBP mission remains the facilitation of legitimate trade. In addition to its own regulations, CBP enforces more than 400 laws on behalf of more than 40 other U.S. government agencies. A large number of these import restrictions and requirements are designed to protect the American people from dangerous and illegal goods, and protect the U.S. economy, which is based on the premises of fair trade.
CBP has designated intellectual property rights enforcement as a priority trade issue. The strategic approach to IPR enforcement is multi-layered and includes seizing fake goods at our borders, pushing the border outward through audits of infringing importers and cooperation with our international trading partners, and partnering with industry and other government agencies to enhance these efforts.
