Counterfeit Sports Caps Seized by CBP

Customs and Border Protection Officers and Import Specialists Seized approximately 50,000 Counterfeit Caps

Port of Newark, N.Y. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and import specialists at the Newark/New York port of entry seized approximately 50,000 baseball caps for intellectual property rights violations manifested as household goods.

This counterfeit New York Yankees baseball cap was one of 50,000 sports caps seized by CBP at the Newark/New York port of entry for intellectual property rights violations manifested as household goods.

“These interceptions are indicative of the exceptional skill level and superior commodity expertise of our CBP officers and import specialists at Newark/New York seaport. Preventing the entry of counterfeit items is crucial to protecting consumers as well as the economy of the United States”, said Robert E. Perez, Director, Field Operations, New York Field Office.

On July 29, CBP officers processing cargo containers selected a container manifested as household goods for examination. They offloaded the cargo that contained a shipment of baseball caps and presented a sample to a CBP import specialist for examination.

The import specialist determined that many of the baseball caps violated several different trademarks for luxury clothing labels, corporate logos, and sports teams, including the New York Yankees. 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 approximately $100,000, and an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $1 million.

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.