Intellectual property includes copyright, trademark, and patent. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are at the center of international trade law.  Treaties, statutes, courts, associations, and government agencies throughout the world help holders protect their IPR through filing, recordation, and enforcement actions, such as seizing and destroying infringing merchandise and penalizing violators through civil and criminal penalties.

Protecting IPR can be difficult and expensive, with parties fighting over who owns what rights, what is the proper venue, and who is the proper arbiter for deciding the dispute.  But US law has made it much simpler for IPR holders to defend their rights against piracy.  The burden of proof shifts from holders to infringers at the border, assuming you have recorded your rights with the proper agencies.   If you record your trademarks and copyrights with CBP or get an exclusion order from the International Trade Commission for your patents.  At that point, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will confiscate first and ask questions later.

Our attorneys help IPR holders record with the proper authorities and through proper channels. 

Federal enforcement officials possess sweeping powers to seize and destroy counterfeit and pirated goods.  But they mistakes and they often overreach.  We represent companies, importers, and individuals whose merchandise has been improperly seized and who have been unfairly penalized.  

Our law assists both the holders defend their IPR

Gray market goods are goods that are bought outside the manufacturer’s approved distribution channels.  These are not counterfeits, but the genuine item.  Manufacturers often sell their products overseas for less than they do here in the US.  Those overseas items are imported to the US and sold  below the manufacturer’s US price.  This is becoming more common because internet purchases allow for easy price comparison shopping and reduce the costs of shipping from a foreign distribution point.  

Our lawyers assist both companies seeking to enforce gray market protections and companies defending against gray market enforcement. 

Data-mining and global intelligence companies are selling your company's import activity data to your competitors and your customers.  Sensitive information about your company and its shipments (like who and where you are buying from and through which ports) is monitored, sifted through, and repackaged for sale on a continuing, real-time basis.  

The good news is that our law firm can help keep your ocean manifest information confidential.  With two decades of representing importers, exporters, manufacturers, suppliers, transportation companies, customs brokers, and other companies across the world, our law firm is the right choice when you need to protect your company's vital information.