TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Tampa seized a shipment of counterfeit toys with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of more than $9,000. The counterfeit toys arrived in a shipment from China on June 18.
CBP officers selected the shipment for inspection and immediately noticed that the merchandise was substantially indistinguishable from the federally registered LEGO copyrighted design. The officers provided samples to CBP import specialists who recommended seizing the counterfeit sets valued at more than $9,000.
“Counterfeiting and piracy costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars every year and is responsible for the loss of thousands of American jobs,” said Tampa Port Director Paula Rivera. “One of the greatest threats of counterfeit toys is the lack of health and safety standards. Our CBP officers and import specialists are committed to preventing these toys from making it into to your children’s hands.”
In Fiscal Year 2014, CBP made more than 23,000 seizures of counterfeit goods worth an estimated $1.2 billion. Toys are among CBP’s top 10 Intellectual Property Rights seizures (IPR). For additional information, statistics and a list of the most popular counterfeit items and their worth, view the IPR 2014 report.
