Many overseas factories make large numbers of imitation products and ship them straight to the United States. Customs can stop these shipments before they ever reach your customers.
I handle recording your trademarks and copyrights with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This creates the official record that officers use to tell your real products from counterfeits.
If This Sounds Familiar…
Your products might be made overseas, or someone abroad could already be copying them. A customer might send you a link to a suspicious listing with your label but at a much lower price. Or you got your federal registration months ago and thought that would protect your brand at the border.
But that’s not enough. Registering with the USPTO or Copyright Office gives you rights, but recordation is a separate step with US Customs and Border Protection. This filing puts your registration into the system officers check when they inspect shipments. It tells them who owns the brand, who can make the real goods, and where they come from. Without recordation, officers have nothing to compare shipments against.
When Customs seizes goods at the port, they stop the entire shipment before it reaches any buyer. In contrast, taking down a listing on a platform only removes one post, and the seller can quickly come back under a different name.
What I Handle
Reviewing your portfolio to decide which registrations to record first, starting with the products most likely to be copied and shipped to the US
Mapping every manufacturer, licensee, distributor, and related company allowed to use your name, so Customs doesn’t stop your own goods
Preparing and filing trademark and copyright recordations
Recording your company name when it is different from your brand name
Product identification guides: visual references officers use to tell your goods from copies, built from your labels, packaging, and authentication details
Renewals, docketed with your USPTO renewal deadlines
Updates when you change factories, add a licensee, or sell the business
Reporting suspect shipments to Customs when you learn copies are on the way
Responding when Customs detains a shipment and contacts you about it
How It Works
Complete the Intake. You complete the customs intake with your registration numbers, where your genuine goods are made, and who is allowed to make or sell them. I will reply within two business days with a recommendation on what to record and your total, including the Customs fees.
Engagement. You will sign the engagement letter and pay the flat fee and Customs fees. If you need your supply chain mapped first, I start with a $250 consultation.
Filing. I build the list of authorized companies, prepare the recordation, and file it. Customs reviews the application, and your protection takes effect on the date Customs approves it.
Upkeep. I docket the recordation’s renewal. When your factories, licensees, or ownership change, I update the record so officers work with accurate information.
Fees
Every recordation is based on a flat fee, so you always know your total cost upfront. No surprises before we file anything. If I need to map your authorized users, we will start with a paid consultation (45 minutes for $250), billed separately from the recordation fee. I quote detention responses after I review the notice.
Trademark recordation: $950 One registration, whatever its class count. I map your authorized manufacturers, licensees, and distributors, file the recordation, and docket its renewal with your USPTO renewal. If I registered your trademarks, the fee is $700.
Each additional registration in the same engagement: $350
Copyright recordation: $500 Each additional copyright in the same engagement is $250.
Company name recordation: $950 Available when your company name is different from your brand name. Includes the supporting declarations and the public notice period Customs requires.
Product identification guide: $1,500 per product line A visual reference officers use to tell your goods from copies, built from your labels, packaging, and authentication details.
Border package: $2,200 One trademark recordation plus a product identification guide. Bought separately, it costs $2,450.
After recording
Renewal filed with your USPTO renewal: $250
Renewal filed on its own: $400
Update for a new owner, manufacturer, or licensee: $350
Report of a suspect shipment to Customs: $500 per report
Response to a Customs detention notice: quoted after I review the notice
Customs fees, billed at cost
Trademark recordation: $190 per class
Copyright recordation: $190 per copyright
Company name recordation: $190
Trademark renewal: $80 per class
Copyright renewal: $80 per copyright
Change of owner or owner name: $80 per filing
If your portfolio includes more than three outside ocmpanies making or selling under your name, related overseas companies, or versions made for other countries, an initial paid consultation will be required to map out who is authorized.
What This Doesn’t Cover
Customs records only registered trademarks on the Principal Register and registered copyrights. If your trademark isn’t registered yet, please start with the search and registration page [Link: Trademark Registration]. If your artwork or design isn’t registered with the Copyright Office, start with the copyright page [Link: Copyright Registration & Strategy].
You usually can’t record a garment’s cut and shape. Copyright doesn’t protect a garment’s silhouette, and Customs recordation covers names, logos, and artwork, not design patents.
I don’t represent importers accused of bringing in copies. I represent brand owners, including when Customs mistakenly holds your genuine goods.
If a seller in the US is copying your design and selling it online, start with my enforcement page instead [Link: Enforcement Against Fast Fashion Copying].
Start Here
I don’t think your Customs recordation should wait for a meeting you might not need. For a registered trademark or copyright, the intake asks for your registration details and who makes, licenses, and distributes your goods. My reply will give you what you need to decide whether to move forward: the fee, the timeline, and anything I see that could change either. If your answers cover everything, you can move forward with engagement without booking an initial consultation.
If you need to map out your manufacturing or licensing arrangements before I can identify your authorized users, I’ll recommend a consultation and explain why.
If Customs has detained your goods, please send me the notice through the intake. After review, I’ll provide a quote for a response.
I reply to every intake within two business days. If you email me, I’ll send you a link back to this form. Starting here is faster.
FAQs
Are the Customs fees included in your fee?
1
No, the government recordation fee is not included. Customs charges a separate per-class recordation fee, which is billed independently of my legal fee and is specified in the scope.
Can I record a pending application?
2
No, you cannot record a pending application. Customs only records trademarks that are registered on the Principal Register and registered copyrights. If you have not registered yet, that step must come first, and I can assist with both.
Can I file the recordation myself?
3
Yes. Customs accepts owner filings through its online portal, and you can complete a single registration yourself. However, mistakes in the list of authorized companies and product details can delay your shipments.
Will recording my trademark cause Customs to stop my own goods?
4
It can if the recordation doesn’t include a factory, licensee, or related company allowed to use your name. That’s why mapping and creating that list is the first step when dealing with multiple authorized users.
I already found copies coming in. Is recordation still the first step?
5
Usually, yes. Recordation gives officers the record they check shipments against, and I can report the suspect shipment as soon as it is on file. If Customs has already detained a shipment, contact me directly instead of using the intake form.
How long does a recordation last?
6
A trademark recordation lasts as long as the registration is maintained and can be renewed, as long as you renew it with the USPTO. A copyright recordation lasts 20 years and can be renewed.