How Registering Your Trademarks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Can Help Protect Your Brand
Protecting your brand from counterfeit goods is essential to maintaining its integrity and preserving customer trust. One effective and often underutilized strategy is recording your federally registered trademark with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This allows CBP officers to identify and seize counterfeit products before they ever reach U.S. consumers.
What is the CBP e-Recordation Program?
The CBP’s e-Recordation Program allows trademark owners to proactively protect their brands at the border. By submitting detailed information about your trademark and your supply chain, you empower CBP officers to recognize and intercept counterfeits.
Trademark owners can provide information such as:
- Countries of manufacture
- Authorized manufacturers and distributors
- Unique product identifiers or security features
This information helps CBP distinguish authentic products from counterfeits during routine inspections.
The benefits of trademark recordation with CBP
It prevents counterfeits from entering the U.S. market.
Recording your trademark with CBP allows customs officers to detain goods suspected of infringing on your rights, serving as a crucial first line of defense at the border.
It strengthens your legal position against infringement.
CBP recordation demonstrates that you are actively protecting your trademark. This can support future enforcement efforts and strengthen claims of willful infringement.
How to record your trademark with CBP
Step 1: Obtain a federal trademark registration.
Only trademarks that are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are eligible for CBP recordation.
Step 2: Collect detailed information.
Prepare key details, including your registration number, authorized supply chain partners, countries of manufacture, and product-specific identifiers that can help CBP recognize your goods.
Step 3: Submit your application online.
Record your mark using CBP’s e-Recordation Portal. Once accepted, your trademark will be added to CBP’s internal database, making it accessible to officers nationwide.
Step 4: Create Product Identification materials.
Create guides that help officers identify your genuine products. These materials can include photos, distinguishing features, and side-by-side comparisons. You may also offer training sessions to further assist CBP officers in recognizing your brand.
Step 5: Keep your recordation up to date
Update your CBP record if your trademark registration changes, new marks are added, or your supply chain is updated.
Why registering packaging design can improve counterfeit protection
Protecting more than just your brand’s word mark or logo can give you a critical edge. By registering unique aspects of your product packaging, trade dress, or labeling, you help CBP quickly and confidently identify infringing goods.
Here’s why it matters:
1. Speed of identification.
Trademark registrations that include packaging design provide CBP with a visual reference. This is essential in ports where thousands of containers pass through daily. Quick identification allows officers to act swiftly and efficiently.
2. Broader protection.
If your only trademark registration covers the word mark, counterfeiters may ship products without branding and add fake tags, labels, or logos once inside the U.S. That means CBP can’t act, even when they suspect something’s off.
A real-world example:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Moderna registered its vaccine packaging, including layout, color scheme, and labeling as a trademark. At first glance, the design didn’t seem particularly distinctive, especially when compared to an existing registration for “MODERNA.”
But the goal wasn’t distinctiveness. it was enforcement.
By registering the packaging design, Moderna could record it with CBP. This allowed customs officers to identify legitimate vaccine shipments and stop counterfeits at the border, even if the infringing products didn’t include a visible word mark.
Strategic filings like this can be especially effective when the product’s appearance plays a key role in authenticity.
Final thoughts
Registering your trademark with CBP is one of the most impactful brand protection steps you can take, especially if counterfeits are a risk in your industry. In today’s global marketplace, proactive border enforcement can help preserve your reputation, maintain customer trust, and minimize legal and financial exposure.
If your business is facing challenges related to counterfeits or infringing imports, or you’re ready to build a comprehensive brand protection strategy, our trademark attorneys are here to help.
Eric Perrott, Esq.
Eric Perrott, Esq. is a trademark and copyright attorney committed to providing high-quality legal services for any sized budget. Eric’s ability to counsel clients through any stage of trademark and copyright development and protection allows him to provide his clients with personalized advice and unique analysis. Eric can be reached directly at: [email protected]. The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only and may not be relied on as legal advice.
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