Mexico, Hong Kong partner in Super Bowl IP enforcement

Officials from the United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized $39 million in fake sports apparel in the internationally orchestrated sting.    The United States government sting associated with last month’s Super Bowl, which netted nearly 450,000 counterfeit sports-related items worth $39 million, also had an international component, according to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
   On Wednesday, U.S. law enforcement officials disclosed how Mexican and Hong Kong customs authorities partnered with the Department of Homeland Security to stop counterfeit merchandise from reaching the U.S. market.
   Operation Team Player is an ongoing effort to increase intellectual property enforcement during major sporting events. It involves ICE, Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection, which cooperated with its overseas counterparts with intelligence sharing and coordinated planning.
   Mexico’s Tax and Customs Administration (SAT) executed dozens of verification warrants and seized almost 9,000 of fake items from retail outlets worth $131,138.
   The SAT has a representative permanently stationed at DHS’s National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center in Washington, DC, which helped identify many of the counterfeit goods being shipped to Mexico.
   Representatives from the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department (CED) received a trademark verification briefing from the National Football League in January, and soon after commenced concurrent intellectual property enforcement blitzes with HSI and CBP. Officials selectively examined outbound shipments headed for the United States, which led to the seizure of hundreds of counterfeit sports-related items, including jerseys and hats.
   The customs agency also mounted an anti-counterfeiting operation at a major shopping attraction, which resulted in the seizure of thousands of items and the arrest of one individual.
   Last year, law enforcement agencies seized $19.5 million worth of fake sports shirts and other products and arrested 52 people in the United States.