U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Louisville intercepted yet another shipment containing counterfeit watches recently. Had these watches been genuine, the shipment would have had a combined Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of over $43 million.
The shipment from Hong Kong was headed for a residence in Houston when officers pulled the parcel for inspection. The examination revealed 300 Audemars Piguet watches. The items were deemed to be inauthentic by CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts, and were seized for bearing counterfeit version of registered and recorded trademarks.
“It is important for consumers to become aware that criminals try to scam shoppers into buying low quality and potentially dangerous counterfeit items,” said Louisville’s Port Director, Philip Onken. “Our officers do an incredible job targeting shipments and identifying these violations, working tirelessly every day to protect the consumer and our economy.”
During June and July, CBP officers in Louisville have now seized three shipments concealing a total of 875 counterfeit Audemars Piguet watches. All the shipments were arriving from Hong Kong and in addition to Texas were destined for locations such as Illinois and New York. Had all of these watches been real, the MSRP would have been over $1.25 billion.
CBP has the authority to detain, seize, forfeit, and ultimately destroy imported merchandise if it bears an infringing trademark or copyright that has been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the United States Copyright Office and has subsequently been recorded with CBP through the e-Recordation program. Other violations can include misclassification of merchandise, false country-of-origin markings, health and safety issues, and valuation issues.
Trade in counterfeit and pirated goods threatens America’s innovation economy, the competitiveness of our businesses, the livelihoods of U.S. workers, and, in some cases, national security and the health and safety of consumers. It is also against the law to import counterfeit or pirated merchandise and individual consumers may be liable for a fine even if they did not intend to import counterfeit and pirated merchandise.
If you have information about counterfeit merchandise being illegally imported into the U.S., CBP encourages you to submit an E-Allegation. This reporting tool provides a means for the public to anonymously report to CBP any suspected violations of trade laws or regulations related to the importation of goods into the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection