U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week released their Intellectual Property Rights Seizure Statistics report for fiscal year 2014. The agencies combined for more than 23,000 seizures worth approximately $1.2 billion.
The most-counterfeited commodity? Apparel.
According to the report, the agencies seized 7,922 shipments of apparel and accessories—28 percent of all seizures and more than any other products, including consumer electronics (second) and pharmaceuticals/personal care items (third). Those apparel shipments were valued at more than $113 million. The report also list 436 seizures of sports league apparel totaling $2.6 million, including $1,016,399 worth of counterfeit soccer apparel seized in April 2014.
Footwear, which the agencies categorize separately from apparel, ranked fifth on the list with 1,961 seizures.
“To be clear, intellectual property theft is not a victimless crime,” Sarah Saldaña, director of ICE, said in a release. “The victims are American businesses and the employees whose jobs are dependent on IP-intensive industries. Counterfeiting is a crime of global proportions, and when property rights are violated, American jobs are lost, business profits are stolen and, ultimately, consumers are cheated.”
View the full report here.
