20K pairs of counterfeit jeans seized

NORFOLK, Va. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Norfolk port of entry seized more than 20,000 pieces of counterfeit designer jeans, officials announced Friday.

CBP officers discovered the shipment of counterfeit merchandise in a container that was selected for examination. The counterfeit shipment included a variety of jeans which included Bill Blass, Rocawear and South Pole. The shipment had a total domestic value of more than $403,000.

Unscrupulous companies try to profit from the sale of pirated goods, said Mark J. Laria, CBP area port director in Norfolk. CBP officers and import specialists are aggressively working together to intercept shipments containing counterfeit and pirated items.

CBP continues to work diligently at our airports and seaports to protect businesses and consumers every day by combating the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights enforcement program, said Robert C. Gomez, CBP director of operations in Atlanta. This latest seizure is a prime example of the hard work CBP officers and import specialists perform daily in combating the illegitimate trade in counterfeit goods.

CBP has designated intellectual property rights enforcement as a Priority Trade Issue. Our strategic approach to IPR enforcement is multi-layered and includes seizing fake goods at our borders, pushing the border outward through audits of infringing importers and cooperation with our international trading partners, and partnering with industry and other government agencies to enhance these efforts.

CBP devotes considerable resources and diverse personnel to the enforcement of IPR.

For more information on IPR dealing with trademarks, please visit the CBP Web site.