US customs seize counterfeit Gucci, Chanel face masks
US customs have seized more than 2,000 counterfeit face masks imitating fashion brands Chanel, Gucci, Burberry, and Supreme.
The seizures, announced yesterday, June 17, were made earlier this month at ports in New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana.
“Our officers have kept potentially harmful counterfeit items from being introduced into the US commerce [Sic]. We must do our part to keep the American public protected, especially in the wake of COVID-19,” said Terri Edwards, New Orleans port director at US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“Also, by seizing these shipments, our officers protected the IP rights of legitimate businesses, keeping their trademarks from being used maliciously,” Edwards added.
There has been increasing concern from rights owners and enforcement agencies over the increased prevalence of counterfeit goods during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially goods related to the crisis itself.
A report published last month by brand protection company Red Points estimated that two in five e-commerce ‘leaders’ had seen an increase in counterfeiting since the pandemic began, while more than half observed a spike in cybercrime.
Writing in WIPR last month, Phil Lewis of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group called for intensified action by government, law enforcement, brand owners, and e-commerce platforms to deal with the problem.
“The bottom line is that consumers and businesses need to be very aware that counterfeiters will stop at nothing to get their cheap and dangerous goods to the most susceptible people in our communities,” Lewis wrote.
The ACG has also produced a warning list of high-risk products, which includes face masks. US customs reported earlier this month that, as of June 1, it had seized almost a million counterfeit COVID-19 items, including 750,000 masks.
COVID-19 test kits are another frequently counterfeited pandemic-related item, CBP said. Europol, the EU’s policing agency, has also reported a surge in counterfeit pharmaceutical products, and estimates the profits from these goods as “substantial”.
The latest items seized by CBP originated from China and Vietnam, the US agency reported. Europol believes that most counterfeit pharmaceutical items circulating in Europe are made in China and India, both of which “host significant licit and illicit pharmaceutical and chemical industries”.
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