TRADEMARKS, TRADE NAMES, AND COPYRIGHTS

30. Trademarks and Trade Names. Articles bearing countereit trademarks, or marks which copy or simulate a registered trademark of a United States or foreign corporation are prohibited importation, provided that a copy of the U.S. trademark registration is filed with the Commissioner of Customs and recorded in the manner set by regulations (19 CFR 133.1-133.7.). the U.S. Customs Service also affords similar protection against unauthorized shipments bearing trade names which are recorded with Customs pursuant to regulations (19 CFR part 133, Subpart B). It is also unlawful to import articles bearing genuine trademarks owned by a U.S. citizen or corporation without permission of the U.S. trademark owner, if the foreign and domestic trademark owners are not parent and subsidiary companies or otherwise under common ownership and control, provided the tradmark has been recorded with the U.S. Customs Service. (15 U.S.C. 1124; 19 U.S.C. 1526).

The Customs Reform and Simplification Act of 1978 strengthened the protection afforded trademark owners against the importation of articles bearing a counterfeit mark. A “counterfeit trademark” is defined as a spurious trademark which is identical with, or substantially indistiguishable from, a registered trademark. Articles bearing a counterfeit trademark which are seized by Customs and forfeited to the government may be (1) given to any Federal, state. or local government agency which has established a need for the article; (2) given to a charitable institution; or (3) sold at public auction if more than 1 year has passed since forfeiture and no eligible organization has established a need for the article. The counterfeit marks must be removed before the forfeited articles may be given away or sold. If this is not feasible, the articles are destroyed. The law also provides an exemption from all restrictions on trademarked articles (limited to one of each type) accompanying a person arriving in the United States when the articles are for personal use and not for sale.

31. Copyrights. Section 602(a) of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976 (17 U.S.C. 602(a) provides that the importation into the United States of copies of a work acquired outside the United States without authorization of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright. Articles imported in violation of the import prohibitions are subject to seizure and forfeiture. Forfeited articles shall be destroyed; however, the articles may be returned to the country of export whenever Customs is satisfied that there was no intentional violation. The substantial similarity test is employed to determine if a design has been copied. Copyright owners seeking import protection from the U.S. Customs Service register their claim to copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office and record their registration with Customs in accordance with applicable regulations (19 CFR Part 133, Subpart D).