Increase in US counterfeit footwear seizures during 2012

The US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) has announced that it made almost 2,000 seizures of counterfeit footwear last year valued at $103.4 million (£65.3 million). There were also 7,805 seizures of counterfeit apparel valued at US$133 million (£83.9 million). The number was up on the 2011 total, when the authorities seized clothing and footwear with a combined value of $223.3 million (£140.9 million) in just over 7,000 operations.

According to Lev Kubiak, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Center, the internet is fuelling the growth of counterfeit trade.

“As online commerce continues to expand, we are seeing more international criminal organisations exploiting cyberspace to further their criminal enterprises,” he said. “Internet websites are increasingly the front end or entry point for consumers, businesses and criminal organisations to the international supply chain.”

The announced goal of the CBP is to attack criminal activity at every point of the international supply chain, which will include websites, manufacturing companies, shippers and shipping routes, border entry points, distribution networks and methods of payment.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 6 of the March 2013 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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