19 U.S.C. § 1526 — Merchandise bearing American trade-

Page 250 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 1525 Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1938 AMENDMENT Amendment by act June 25, 1938, effective on thir- tieth day following June 25, 1938, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 37 of act June 25, 1938, set out as a note under section 1401 of this title. § 1525. Repealed. Pub. L. 89–762, § 2, Nov. 5, 1966, 80 Stat. 1312 Section, act June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 525, 46 Stat. 741, authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to employ not more than ten persons in the District of Co- lumbia who have been detailed from the field force of the Customs Service. § 1526. Merchandise bearing American trade- mark (a) Importation prohibited Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, it shall be unlawful to import into the United States any merchandise of foreign manu- facture if such merchandise, or the label, sign, print, package, wrapper, or receptacle, bears a trademark owned by a citizen of, or by a cor- poration or association created or organized within, the United States, and registered in the Patent and Trademark Office by a person domi- ciled in the United States, under the provisions of sections 81 to 109 of title 15, and if a copy of the certificate of registration of such trademark is filed with the Secretary of the Treasury, in the manner provided in section 106 of said title 15, unless written consent of the owner of such trademark is produced at the time of making entry. (b) Seizure and forfeiture Any such merchandise imported into the United States in violation of the provisions of this section shall be subject to seizure and for- feiture for violation of the customs laws. (c) Injunction and damages Any person dealing in any such merchandise may be enjoined from dealing therein within the United States or may be required to export or destroy such merchandise or to remove or oblit- erate such trademark and shall be liable for the same damages and profits provided for wrongful use of a trade-mark, under the provisions of sec- tions 81 to 109 of title 15. (d) Exemptions; publication in Federal Register; forfeitures; rules and regulations (1) The trademark provisions of this section and section 1124 of title 15, do not apply to the importation of articles accompanying any per- son arriving in the United States when such ar- ticles are for his personal use and not for sale if (A) such articles are within the limits of types and quantities determined by the Secretary pur- suant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, and (B) such person has not been granted an exemption under this subsection within thirty days imme- diately preceding his arrival. (2) The Secretary shall determine and publish in the Federal Register lists of the types of arti- cles and the quantities of each which shall be entitled to the exemption provided by this sub- section. In determining such quantities of par- ticular types of trade-marked articles, the Sec- retary shall give such consideration as he deems necessary to the numbers of such articles usu- ally purchased at retail for personal use. (3) If any article which has been exempted from the restrictions on importation of the trade-mark laws under this subsection is sold within one year after the date of importation, such article, or its value (to be recovered from the importer), is subject to forfeiture. A sale pursuant to a judicial order or in liquidation of the estate of a decedent is not subject to the provisions of this paragraph. (4) The Secretary may prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection. (e) Merchandise bearing counterfeit mark; sei- zure and forfeiture; disposition of seized goods Any such merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark (within the meaning of section 1127 of title 15) imported into the United States in violation of the provisions of section 1124 of title 15, shall be seized and, in the absence of the written con- sent of the trademark owner, forfeited for viola- tions of the customs laws. Upon seizure of such merchandise, the Secretary shall notify the owner of the trademark, and shall, after for- feiture, destroy the merchandise. Alternatively, if the merchandise is not unsafe or a hazard to health, and the Secretary has the consent of the trademark owner, the Secretary may obliterate the trademark where feasible and dispose of the goods seized— (1) by delivery to such Federal, State, and local government agencies as in the opinion of the Secretary have a need for such merchan- dise, (2) by gift to such eleemosynary institutions as in the opinion of the Secretary have a need for such merchandise, or (3) more than 90 days after the date of for- feiture, by sale by the Customs Service at pub- lic auction under such regulations as the Sec- retary prescribes, except that before making any such sale the Secretary shall determine that no Federal, State, or local government agency or eleemosynary institution has estab- lished a need for such merchandise under para- graph (1) or (2). (f) Civil penalties (1) Any person who directs, assists financially or otherwise, or aids and abets the importation of merchandise for sale or public distribution that is seized under subsection (e) shall be sub- ject to a civil fine. (2) For the first such seizure, the fine shall be not more than the value that the merchandise would have had if it were genuine, according to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, deter- mined under regulations promulgated by the Secretary. (3) For the second seizure and thereafter, the fine shall be not more than twice the value that the merchandise would have had if it were gen- uine, as determined under regulations promul- gated by the Secretary. (4) The imposition of a fine under this sub- section shall be within the discretion of the Cus- toms Service, and shall be in addition to any other civil or criminal penalty or other remedy authorized by law. Page 251 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 1527 (June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 526, 46 Stat. 741; Pub. L. 93–596, § 3, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1949; Pub. L. 95–410, title II, § 211(a), (c), Oct. 3, 1978, 92 Stat. 903; Pub. L. 103–182, title VI, § 663, Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2214; Pub. L. 104–153, §§ 9, 10, July 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1388.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Sections 81 to 109 of title 15, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (c), were repealed by act July 5, 1946, ch. 540, § 46(a), 61 Stat. 444. See sections 1051 to 1127, respectively, of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. Section 106 of title 15, referred to in subsec. (a), was repealed by act July 15, 1946, ch. 540, § 46(a), 60 Stat. 444. See section 1124 of Title 15. PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 526, 42 Stat. 975. That section was superseded by section 526 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act. AMENDMENTS 1996—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104–153, § 9, inserted ‘‘de- stroy the merchandise. Alternatively, if the merchan- dise is not unsafe or a hazard to health, and the Sec- retary has the consent of the trademark owner, the Secretary may’’ after ‘‘shall, after forfeiture,’’ in sec- ond sentence, inserted ‘‘or’’ at end of par. (2), sub- stituted period for ‘‘, or’’ at end of par. (3), and struck out par. (4) which read as follows: ‘‘if the merchandise is unsafe or a hazard to health, by destruction.’’ Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104–153, § 10, added subsec. (f). 1993—Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 103–182 substituted ‘‘90 days’’ for ‘‘1 year’’ and ‘‘the Customs Service’’ for ‘‘ap- propriate customs officers’’. 1978—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95–410, § 211(a)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, it’’ for ‘‘It’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 95–410, § 211(a)(2), added subsec. (d). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 95–410, § 211(c), added subsec. (e). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME ‘‘Patent and Trademark Office’’ substituted for ‘‘Pat- ent Office’’ in subsec. (a) pursuant to Pub. L. 93–596, § 3, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1949, set out as a note under sec- tion 1 of Title 35, Patents. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and li- abilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Sec- retary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of re- lated references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of Novem- ber 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. For establishment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Se- curity, treated as if included in Pub. L. 107–296 as of Nov. 25, 2002, see section 211 of Title 6, as amended gen- erally by Pub. L. 114–125, and section 802(b) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6. § 1527. Importation of wild mammals and birds in violation of foreign law (a) Importation prohibited If the laws or regulations of any country, de- pendency, province, or other subdivision of gov- ernment restrict the taking, killing, possession, or exportation to the United States, of any wild mammal or bird, alive or dead, or restrict the exportation to the United States of any part or product of any wild mammal or bird, whether raw or manufactured, no such mammal or bird, or part or product thereof, shall, after the expi- ration of ninety days after June 17, 1930, be im- ported into the United States from such coun- try, dependency, province, or other subdivision of government, directly or indirectly, unless ac- companied by a certification of the United States consul, for the consular district in which is located the port or place from which such mammal or bird, or part or product thereof, was exported from such country, dependency, prov- ince, or other subdivision of government, that such mammal or bird, or part or product there- of, has not been acquired or exported in viola- tion of the laws or regulations of such country, dependency, province, or other subdivision of government. (b) Forfeiture Any mammal or bird, alive or dead, or any part or product thereof, whether raw or manu- factured, imported into the United States in vio- lation of the provisions of the preceding subdivi- sion shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture under the customs laws. Any such article so for- feited may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury and under such regulations as he may prescribe, be placed with the departments or bureaus of the Federal or State Governments, or with societies or museums, for exhibition or scientific or educational purposes, or destroyed, or (except in the case of heads or horns of wild mammals) sold in the manner provided by law. (c) Section not to apply in certain cases The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of— (1) Prohibited importations Articles the importation of which is prohib- ited under the provisions of this chapter, or of section 42(a) of title 18, or of any other law; (2) Scientific or educational purposes Wild mammals or birds, alive or dead, or parts or products thereof, whether raw or manufactured, imported for scientific or edu- cational purposes; (3) Certain migratory game birds Migratory game birds (for which an open season is provided by the laws of the United States and any foreign country which is a party to a treaty with the United States, in ef- fect on the date of importation, relating to the protection of such migratory game birds) brought into the United States by bona fide sportsmen returning from hunting trips in such country, if at the time of importation the possession of such birds is not prohibited by the laws of such country or of the United States. (June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 527, 46 Stat. 741.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION In subsec. (c)(1), ‘‘section 42(a) of title 18’’ substituted for ‘‘section 241 of the Criminal Code [18 U.S.C. 391]’’ on