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420,000 Counterfeit Computer Parts Seized in CBP Enforcement Operation
Integrated circuits and network components bearing 50 different counterfeit trademarks confiscated at 11 different ports of entry
Washington, DC — December 1, 2008 — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection service seized more than 420,000 imports of counterfeit integrated circuits and computer network components bearing 50 different counterfeit trademarks in a CBP enforcement operation in May and June, the service has announced.
The seizures, conducted by CBP at 11 ports of entry, have a total domestic value of $1.3 million and an estimated retail value of $3.5 million.
Integrated circuits or ICs and computer network components are used in a wide range of applications, many of which have health and safety or national security implications. They are used in communication and weapons systems, automobiles, aircrafts, computers, medical devices and consumer electronics.
"Like other counterfeit products, counterfeit network hardware and ICs are not built up to the standards of genuine equipment," said Assistant Commissioner Daniel Baldwin with the CBP Office of International Trade. "These products have a higher failure rate than genuine equipment and often fail upon installation or weeks or months after installation. One threat that these fake products pose is that when they fail, the entire system in which they are embedded in can also fail, crippling vital infrastructure and products on which we depend."
The customs service said that the initiative continues its ongoing effort to protect the U.S. market from counterfeit network hardware and ICs. Previous efforts announced earlier this year include an ongoing Departments of Justice and Homeland Security international initiative that resulted in more than 400 seizures of counterfeit Cisco network hardware and labels with an estimated retail value of more than $76 million.
In addition, the first joint intellectual property rights enforcement operation undertaken by CBP and the European Union, dubbed Operation Infrastructure, resulted in the seizure of more than 360,000 counterfeit integrated circuits and computer network components bearing more than 40 different trademarks.
In fiscal year 2008, CBP seized counterfeit network hardware, ICs, computers and other critical computer components with a domestic value of over $4.7 million.
CBP said its strategic approach to intellectual property rights enforcement is multilayered and includes seizing fake goods at the nation's borders, pushing the border outward through audits of infringing importers and cooperation with the country's international trading partners, and partnering with industry and other government agencies to improve these efforts.
The seizures, conducted by CBP at 11 ports of entry, have a total domestic value of $1.3 million and an estimated retail value of $3.5 million.
Integrated circuits or ICs and computer network components are used in a wide range of applications, many of which have health and safety or national security implications. They are used in communication and weapons systems, automobiles, aircrafts, computers, medical devices and consumer electronics.
"Like other counterfeit products, counterfeit network hardware and ICs are not built up to the standards of genuine equipment," said Assistant Commissioner Daniel Baldwin with the CBP Office of International Trade. "These products have a higher failure rate than genuine equipment and often fail upon installation or weeks or months after installation. One threat that these fake products pose is that when they fail, the entire system in which they are embedded in can also fail, crippling vital infrastructure and products on which we depend."
The customs service said that the initiative continues its ongoing effort to protect the U.S. market from counterfeit network hardware and ICs. Previous efforts announced earlier this year include an ongoing Departments of Justice and Homeland Security international initiative that resulted in more than 400 seizures of counterfeit Cisco network hardware and labels with an estimated retail value of more than $76 million.
In addition, the first joint intellectual property rights enforcement operation undertaken by CBP and the European Union, dubbed Operation Infrastructure, resulted in the seizure of more than 360,000 counterfeit integrated circuits and computer network components bearing more than 40 different trademarks.
In fiscal year 2008, CBP seized counterfeit network hardware, ICs, computers and other critical computer components with a domestic value of over $4.7 million.
CBP said its strategic approach to intellectual property rights enforcement is multilayered and includes seizing fake goods at the nation's borders, pushing the border outward through audits of infringing importers and cooperation with the country's international trading partners, and partnering with industry and other government agencies to improve these efforts.
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