Counterfeit Consumer Electronics Products Seized in First Joint U.S.-China Intellectual Property Operation
CBP and the General Administration of Customs, People’s Republic of China (GACC) announced results from the first joint intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement operation between the U.S. and China on July 31, CBP said. The month-long operation resulted in the seizure of over 243,000 counterfeit consumer electronic products from popular trademarks including Apple, Blackberry and Samsung. CBP said the operation also resulted in an arrest by local law enforcement of a U.S. citizen who repeatedly imported counterfeit Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and sold them on Craigslist.
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Zou Zhiwu, Vice Minister of GACC, called IPR infringement a global issue and said enforcement agencies around the world should work to “crack down” on such activity. “The results of this joint operation are very inspiring and have consolidated our confidence and resolve to jointly fight again IPR violations under the framework of Memorandum of Cooperation on Strengthened Cooperation in Border Protection Enforcement of IPR Between GACC and CBP,” he said. The joint operation fulfilled a commitment by CBP and GACC to “cooperatively produce tangible IPR enforcement results by the Fifth Strategic & Economic Dialogue,” CBP said. CBP and GACC also committed to further cooperation towards IPR enforcement, including additional joint operations, during the dialogue.