American business loses much of its profit and competitiveness due to the infringement of copy-rights, trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property rights by overseas companies and import of knock-off products which cash in on the original company's goodwill.

The International Trade Commission estimated in 1986 that U.S. companies lose between $43 and $63 billion per year because of inadequate foreign protection of intellectual property rights.

The U.S. Customs Service is in a unique position to prevent illegal imports and has developed an initiative to stem the importation of infringing merchandise.

Customs protects trademarks, servicemarks, trade names, and copyrights that have been recorded with their Intellectual Property Rights Branch (IPR Branch).

To be eligible for recordation with Customs' Intellectual Property Rights Branch (IPRB), your intellectual property item must first be registered with the appropriate government office.

• Patents with US Patent & Trademark Office
• Trademarks & Servicemarks with US Patent & Trademark Office
• Copyrights with Library of Congress

How Does Customs Protection Work ?
Once a trademark, servicemark, trade name, or copyright has been recorded with the IPRB, Customs has the authority to deny entry to, or seize goods that infringe upon the recorded right before it comes through US ports of entry.

Customs recordation of registered trademarks and copyrights usually takes 1-2 weeks.

The applicant will be notified by mail of Customs acceptance or rejection of their application.

The Protection shall be effective upon the date of approval and remain in force as long as the trademark itself does. A renewal application for Protection must be filed within 3 months after the trademark registration renewal is filed. The Protection will be canceled or revoked at the same time as the trademark registration itself.

Can Customs Protect Patents Too ?
Yes, but in a more limited manner. Novel, useful, and non-obvious inventions are protected under U.S. patent law, with the USPTO. Customs, however, has only limited authority to assist patent owners in the protection of their rights.

Customs enforces exclusion orders, or seizure and forfeiture orders, issued by the ITC. These orders are issued as a remedy against the importation of goods constituting an unfair trade practice, or the sale after importation of articles that infringe a patent or a registered copyright or are made by a process covered by the claims of a patent.

Customs enforces ITC exclusion orders in accordance with their specific terms which can direct Customs to deny entry to all future imports of goods that the ITC has found to infringe upon the rights of the patent holder, or to all goods that Customs determines embody specific claims of relevant patents.

In the absence of an ITC order, Customs can still be of assistance to private parties suffering from patent infringement. A patent owner may request a Survey to assist in taking appropriate private action against infringers. The Survey will provide the rightful patent owner with the name and address of an importer of merchandise which appears to infringe a registered patent.

What Exactly Will Happen if Customs Finds an Infringer ?
Should Customs find an instance of another person or company importing goods which infringe upon a Protected Patent, Copyright or Trademark (Servicemark), such goods can be detained for up to 30 days initially and notice that the articles are subject to restrictions (of the Protection) will be given in writing.

The rightful trademark owner is also notified in the case of a seizure, in writing, with a description and quantity of the goods involved. The trademark owner then has 30 days to respond to Customs to a variety of options for the disposition of the goods.

After the initial 30 days, if the importer has not successfully obtained a release of the detained articles, the goods shall be seized and forfeiture proceedings instituted. The importer will again be notified of such action in writing, in order that they may seek relief through the courts.

In order for an importer to gain a release of the detained articles one of the following circumstances must generally be true:

• Goods must be destroyed under Customs supervision
• Protected mark is removed or obliterated from goods under Customs supervision
• Goods may be re-exported (in some situations)

In the event of a seizure of infringing copyright goods, the US Attorney will also be notified for possible criminal prosecution under the "Piracy and Counterfeiting Amendments Act of 1982".

What Happens to the Goods if the Merchandise is Forfeited by the Importer ?
Such items in various manners:

• Copyright Infringement (Shall be destroyed)
• Trademark Infringement (After the obliteration of the counterfeit trademark)
  • Will be delivered to any Federal, State or local government agency showing need
  • Will be given to any charitable institution showing need
  • Will be sold at public auction (if more than 1 year has passed since forfeiture)
  • Will be destroyed if it is deemed unsafe or a health hazard

  What Does Mr. Trademark Do ?
  Mr. Trademark has already spent the time to investigate the process so you don't have to. We prepare the Protection application as per Customs requirements, and send it back to you for final signature and inclusion of the appropriate Customs fee. We also include a detailed instruction page so all the guess work has been eliminated.

  Protect your valuable time and make your life easier for the small price of only $99 per application.

  Choose the service(s) you want from the button below.

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