HE DAMAGING EFFECTS of Sept. 11, 2001, on American business have been widely chronicled. But one such effect that has received little attention is that it has become more difficult for trademark owners to protect their valuable marks against the importation and marketing of counterfeit and “gray” goods. Because America’s primary focus is now, necessarily, the war on terrorism, significant resources in the U.S. Customs and U.S. Marshal’s offices have been diverted from policing counterfeit merchandise to catching terrorists. Consequently, enlisting the government’s assistance in preventing the importation and sale of counterfeit and other unauthorized merchandise – an often difficult task even before Sept. 11 – is now more so.

Trademarks are the principal means for consumers to identify the source of goods. Thus, trademarks and their associated goodwill can be among the most valuable assets a company owns. It has long been the case that the best approach to policing a company’s marks is multi-faceted, involving not only use of the traditional injunctive and damage remedies available under the Lanham Act, but also close coordination with two arms of the federal government, the U.S. Customs office, which is vested with the authority to prevent the importation of counterfeit goods, and the U.S. Marshal’s office, which is permitted, under the Trademark Counterfeiting Act, to make ex parte seizures of counterfeit goods pursuant to court order.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]