PITTSBURGH – Coronavirus has forced Americans to shelter in place and many have used the time to binge-watch movies and television series on popular streaming services. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) knows that the more popular the product, the more likely it is to be counterfeited.
CBP officers in Pittsburgh seized a shipment of 1,600 television remotes branded with the popular Roku trademark April 19 that arrived from China. If authentic, the remotes would have had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $80,000. The shipment, which arrived April 13, was destined to an address in Butler County, Pa.
Counterfeit remote devices are constructed with substandard materials that could easily break, and may not offer a full inventory of options or commands that an authentic remote offers.
“Customs and Border Protection officers remain committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of businesses while protecting consumers against potentially harmful counterfeit products,” said Kathleen Killian Schafer, CBP’s Acting Port Director for the Port of Pittsburgh. “Consumers should be aware that counterfeit goods pose a health and safety threat and should protect their families by purchasing safe, authentic goods from reputable vendors.”
CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement program. Importation of counterfeit merchandise can cause significant revenue loss, damage the U.S. economy, and threaten the health and safety of the American people.
On a typical day in 2019, CBP officers seized $4.3 million worth of products with Intellectual Property Rights violations. Learn more about what CBP did during "A Typical Day" in 2019.
CBP officers and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents seized 27,599 shipments containing counterfeit goods in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. The total estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods, had they been genuine, increased to over $1.5 billion from nearly $1.4 billion in FY 2018.
Additionally, HSI arrested 256 individuals, obtained 197 indictments, and received 157 convictions related to intellectual property crimes during FY 2019.
The People’s Republic of China remained the primary source economy for seized counterfeit and pirated goods, accounting for a total estimated MSRP value of over $1 billion or 66 percent of the estimated MSRP value of all IPR seizures.
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.