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17 August 2018Trademarks

US issues charges over fake luxury goods imported from China

More than 20 individuals have been charged for illegally bringing counterfeit goods manufactured in China, including Louis Vuitton handbags, into the US.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced yesterday, August 16, that the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York had handed down six indictments and one criminal complaint. Of the 22 defendants, 21 were arrested yesterday morning.

The charges include conspiracy to traffic and trafficking counterfeit goods, and conspiracy to smuggle and smuggling counterfeit goods.

According to the DoJ, some of the defendants arranged to smuggle counterfeit goods into the US through the Port of New York/New Jersey and elsewhere. They allegedly used the names, addresses and other information of legitimate import companies and gave fake descriptions of the containers’ contents.

Once the counterfeit goods were imported, they were distributed by truck to self-storage facilities in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, New York, where they were stored.

The counterfeit luxury goods also included fake Tory Burch handbags, Michael Kors wallets, Hermes belts and Chanel perfume.

The estimated manufacturers’ retail price of the items was more than $450 million, said the DoJ.

Some of the defendants resold the counterfeit items to wholesale and retail sellers in New York, California, and other parts of the US.

Assistant attorney general Brian Benczkowski for the DoJ’s criminal division said that the defendants’ actions deprived companies of their hard-earned IP.

“The illegal smuggling of counterfeit goods poses a real threat to honest businesses, and I commend our federal prosecutors and partners at Homeland Security Investigations ( HSI) and the New York City Police Department for their outstanding work on this important investigation.”

HSI special agent in charge, Angel Melendez, added that the investigation highlighted the global extent of IP crimes.

“This investigation should be a crystal-clear message that counterfeiting and IP rights violations is anything but a victimless crime as it harms legitimate businesses, consumers and governments,” he added.

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9 March 2018   The number of seized items infringing IP rights in the US increased by 8% in 2017 year on year.
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16 October 2018   Michael Kors has accused property owners and their tenants of operating a counterfeit distribution hub in New York City.