Washington—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized imports of counterfeit perfume valued at nearly $51 million during fiscal year 2011.
Counterfeit perfumes are a form of theft from the brand owner, and protecting American intellectual property is a priority for CBP. In addition to the economic harm, counterfeit perfumes are also often contaminated with unknown chemicals that can cause serious injury.
The fake perfume that CBP most frequently intercepted was counterfeit “Sex in the City” perfume, which is related to the highly popular HBO movie and television series. CBP has been working with the right holder to crack down on these illegal imports.
In fiscal year 2011, CBP’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) National Targeting and Analysis Group (NTAG) in Los Angeles targeted 138 commercial shipments of perfumes for possible trademark infringement. These shipments were examined and 52 were seized for infringing a trademark, including the “Sex in the City” trademark. The domestic value of the seized shipments, which contained more than one million pieces, was nearly $8 million. If the trademark had been genuine, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the perfume would have been more than $45 million.
The IPR-NTAG provides a national strategic perspective on trade through risk analysis and multi-disciplined trade strategies; develops and applies risk management techniques to support trade security and trade compliance; supports national trade strategies and field enforcement operations; and monitors the effectiveness of trade criteria and the targeting process.
In the past year, the IPR-NTAG uncovered more than 30 entities involved in the importation of counterfeit perfume,
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