CBP Seizes More Than 100,000 Baseball Caps and Toys for IPR Violations

Otay Mesa, Calif. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and import specialists at the Otay Mesa port of entry seized more than 100,000 baseball caps and remote-controlled toy cars for intellectual property rights violations.

In mid-April, CBP officers processing trucks exporting goods out of the U.S. pulled aside a shipment of baseball caps, offloaded the cargo and presented a sample to a CBP import specialist for examination.

The import specialist determined that the many of the baseball caps violated several different trademarks for luxury clothing labels, cartoon characters, and sports teams, including the San Diego Padres. Some of the counterfeit caps sported U.S. military or law enforcement insignias. The baseball caps were of generally poor quality and lacked any licensing information, despite using the same logos as legitimate baseball caps.

The baseball caps had an estimated domestic value of more than $200,000, the value of the baseball caps to the company, and an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $1 million, the approximate price of what the baseball caps would sell for to consumers in the U.S. if they were the real thing.

In late April, CBP officers processing trucks exporting goods out of the U.S. pulled aside a shipment of toys. Officers offloaded the cargo, and found more than 100 boxes of toys that appeared to possibly violate the “Jeep” trademark. CBP officers presented a sample of the remote-controlled toy cars to a CBP import specialist for examination.

The import specialist determined that the remote-controlled cars violated the Jeep trademark. The toys were of generally poor quality and lacked any licensing information, despite using the Jeep logo.

The toys had an estimated domestic value of about $11,000, the value of the toys to the company, and an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $100,000, the approximate price of what the toys would sell for to consumers in the U.S. if they were legal products.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.