Dealing with Infringement from Overseas

It is possible that infringement of your trademark rights comes in the form of importation of goods from abroad. To assist with preventing this sort of infringement it may be a good idea to register your trademark with the US Customs Service. By recording your trademark with customs you can seek to bar good from being imported which would have a mark that constitute infringement. Recordation can be done online. After this is done you can take proactive steps to assist with enforcement such as providing Customs and port personnel with information regarding suspected infringement and details about your trademark. You can also obtain Custom information and even publicize enforcement and seizures related to your trademark. If the goods are counterfeit, then Customs will either seize or destroy the goods. If it is not necessarily counterfeit, but infringement then Customs may send back goods to where they came from or allow entry if the infringing mark is removed. Customs will help protect you from infringement, but being proactive and knowing your rights will strengthen this protection.

This blog is not legal advice and is not specific to your application. You should always consult an attorney.