Nike, 3M Seek New Weapon in Battle Against Counterfeit Goods

A new proposed bill will give U.S. Customs and Border Protection the authority to block imports of goods believed to infringe design patents. Under the current law, design patent owners must obtain an import ban through a trial the U.S. International Trade Commission, a process that can be slow and expensive. Bloomberg Law reached to Finnegan partner Beth Ferrill, who serves as vice chair of the industrial design committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association, for insight into the proposed legislation.

Beth noted, “[The problem is] we’re starting to see more sophisticated counterfeiting [at the U.S. border].” She said importers will ship the products separately from the trademark and attach the logo after the goods have entered the country, trademarks will be purposely obscured and uncovered later, as another type of method to avoid detection. The new legislation will give design patents the same protection as trademarked and copyrighted goods, allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seize imported products suspected of infringing.