1. What Is Trademark Customs Recordation?
Trademark customs recordation is the process of recording an eligible federal trademark registration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for border-enforcement purposes.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office and CBP perform different functions.
The USPTO examines trademark applications and issues federal registrations.
CBP enforces certain intellectual property rights against imported merchandise at U.S. ports of entry.
Recording an eligible trademark with CBP connects the federal registration with the agency responsible for inspecting incoming goods.
Once recorded, information concerning the trademark becomes available within CBP’s intellectual property enforcement system and can help personnel evaluate potentially infringing merchandise.
Customs recordation can be especially useful for brands whose physical products are manufactured internationally, distributed through cross-border supply chains, or frequently targeted by counterfeiters.
2. Why Record a Trademark With U.S. Customs and Border Protection?
Recording a trademark with CBP can make a federal registration more effective as a border-enforcement tool.
A USPTO registration creates federal trademark rights, but USPTO registration alone does not automatically provide CBP with all of the product and supply-chain information that may help officers identify suspicious shipments.
Through CBP recordation, a trademark owner can provide information specifically designed for border enforcement.
Customs recordation may be particularly valuable when a business sells branded physical products, manufactures internationally, has experienced counterfeiting, operates through international distribution channels, faces unauthorized imports, or regularly finds counterfeit merchandise on online marketplaces.
CBP recordation allows the brand to address some infringement before the goods reach warehouses, retailers, marketplaces, or consumers.
It should therefore be viewed as one component of a broader anti-counterfeiting and trademark enforcement strategy rather than as a substitute for marketplace monitoring, litigation, or other enforcement tools.
3. Which Trademarks Are Eligible for CBP Recordation?
A trademark generally must have a valid registration on the USPTO Principal Register before it can be recorded with CBP.
A pending trademark application is not sufficient.
A trademark appearing only on the Supplemental Register is also not eligible for CBP trademark recordation.
This makes the distinction between a trademark application, federal registration, and customs recordation important.
A business may file a trademark application and begin the USPTO registration process, but it generally must wait until an eligible Principal Register registration issues before completing a CBP trademark recordation.
For businesses where imported counterfeit goods are a significant risk, potential CBP protection can therefore be considered as part of the broader trademark registration strategy.
Learn About Trademark Application Filing & Prosecution
4. How Do You Record a Trademark With CBP?
Eligible trademarks can be recorded through CBP’s Intellectual Property Rights e-Recordation system.
The trademark owner submits information concerning the federal registration, ownership, protected goods, and other information required by CBP.
The CBP application is separate from the original USPTO trademark application.
CBP’s Intellectual Property Rights Branch administers the e-Recordation program, and approved recordations become part of the system used by the agency to support intellectual property enforcement at U.S. ports of entry.
Public recordation information can also be searched through CBP’s intellectual property rights search system.
Submitting the recordation is only one part of an effective customs strategy.
The practical usefulness of the recordation can depend heavily on the quality of the information supplied about the brand, products, manufacturers, licensees, countries of manufacture, supply chain, and characteristics that distinguish authentic products from counterfeits.
5. What Information Should Be Provided to CBP?
A CBP trademark recordation should provide enough information to identify the trademark and connect the registration with the merchandise protected by it.
Depending on the brand and products involved, the submission may include trademark registration information, ownership information, covered goods, contact details, licensees, authorized manufacturers, countries of manufacture, and other relevant product information.
Rights holders can also provide materials that help officers distinguish genuine merchandise from suspicious goods.
Useful information may include photographs of authentic packaging, product labels, serial numbers, product codes, authorized manufacturing locations, approved importers or distributors, authentication features, known counterfeit characteristics, current and former product designs, and common counterfeit shipping patterns.
This information can be updated as circumstances change.
The objective is not merely to repeat information contained in the trademark registration.
It is to provide practical product information that can help CBP personnel evaluate actual shipments.
6. What Can CBP Do When It Finds Counterfeit Goods?
CBP has authority under applicable customs and intellectual property laws to take enforcement action against qualifying infringing merchandise seeking entry into the United States.
Depending on the type of violation and applicable legal standards, CBP enforcement can include detention, seizure, forfeiture, and eventual destruction of infringing merchandise.
The precise response depends on the nature of the suspected violation and CBP’s determination under applicable law.
Not every questionable shipment is treated in the same way.
Merchandise bearing a counterfeit trademark may present different legal issues from merchandise using a merely similar mark.
Genuine goods entering through an unauthorized distribution channel may raise different questions from counterfeit products.
A CBP recordation therefore does not guarantee that every shipment involving a similar trademark will be seized.
It gives CBP an additional enforcement tool and provides information that can assist the agency in identifying and evaluating potentially infringing imports.
7. How Can Trademark Owners Help CBP Identify Counterfeit Products?
Trademark owners can improve the practical value of CBP recordation by educating the agency about their genuine products.
CBP personnel encounter large numbers of brands and enormous volumes of imported merchandise. The trademark owner often knows product details that are not apparent from the registration itself.
Product identification materials may include photographs of authentic goods and packaging, descriptions of authentication features, legitimate product variations, authorized manufacturing locations, labels, codes, serial numbers, and other features that help distinguish genuine merchandise from counterfeit goods.
Rights holders may also provide updated information as products, packaging, manufacturers, or supply chains change.
CBP also provides opportunities for product identification training designed to familiarize enforcement personnel with genuine products.
Ongoing cooperation can be particularly valuable for brands facing persistent counterfeit imports.
A recordation is therefore most useful when the information behind it remains current and practical.
8. How Much Does Trademark Customs Recordation Cost?
CBP currently charges a government fee of $190 for each International Class of goods included in a new trademark e-Recordation.
A trademark registration covering several eligible classes can therefore require multiple CBP recordation fees.
CBP currently lists a renewal fee of $80 per International Class for trademark recordations.
Government fees may change and should be confirmed when a recordation or renewal is prepared.
Attorney fees, portfolio review, preparation of product-identification materials, and other brand-protection or enforcement services are separate from the CBP filing fees.
9. How Long Does a CBP Trademark Recordation Last?
A CBP trademark recordation is generally tied to the underlying federal trademark registration.
When properly maintained and renewed, CBP recordation can remain in force concurrently with the corresponding USPTO registration.
The underlying federal registration must therefore remain valid.
Trademark owners should manage CBP recordations as part of their broader trademark-maintenance and portfolio-management process rather than treating recordation as a permanent one-time filing.
Recordation information should also be reviewed and updated when relevant business information changes.
Updates may involve ownership, contact information, licensees, manufacturers, countries of manufacture, product information, subsidiaries, or authorized supply-chain relationships.
Keeping this information current can help ensure that CBP personnel have useful information when enforcement questions arise.
Learn About Trademark Portfolio Management
10. Can Customs Recordation Address Gray Market Goods?
In some circumstances, CBP recordation can also be relevant to gray market goods.
Gray market goods are generally genuine branded products that were legitimately manufactured or sold but are imported into another market through channels that may not have been authorized by the trademark owner for that market.
This is different from traditional counterfeiting because the merchandise itself may be genuine.
CBP recognizes certain forms of gray market protection when applicable legal requirements are satisfied.
For example, protection may be available in circumstances involving different ownership of U.S. and foreign trademark rights and the absence of qualifying common ownership or control.
CBP also recognizes protection involving certain physically and materially different foreign-market goods under what is commonly called Lever-rule protection.
That form of protection requires additional evidence and a specific request.
Gray market disputes are highly fact-specific and should be analyzed separately from ordinary counterfeit enforcement.
# 11. Is U.S. Customs Recordation the Same as International Trademark Protection?
No.
Recording a trademark with U.S. Customs and Border Protection does not create trademark rights in other countries.
CBP recordation is a U.S. border-enforcement mechanism.
International trademark protection must be obtained separately through national trademark offices, regional trademark systems, or international filing mechanisms such as the Madrid System.
Customs enforcement outside the United States likewise depends on the laws and procedures of the relevant country or region.
A business facing international counterfeiting may therefore need two coordinated strategies.
The first is obtaining trademark registrations in commercially important jurisdictions.
The second is evaluating whether those jurisdictions provide customs or border-recordation programs that can help enforce those rights against counterfeit imports.
For global brands, U.S. CBP recordation can be one part of a larger international trademark and anti-counterfeiting strategy.
Learn About Global Trademark Search & Clearance
Learn About Trademark Portfolio Management
12. How Can Cohn Legal Help With Trademark Customs Recordation?
Cohn Legal, PLLC assists trademark owners with evaluating and implementing CBP recordation as part of a broader brand-protection and anti-counterfeiting strategy.
The process can begin by confirming that the relevant trademark registration is eligible for recordation and determining which registrations and classes should be prioritized.
Cohn Legal can assist with preparing the CBP recordation, reviewing trademark ownership and registration information, identifying relevant product and supply-chain details, and maintaining accurate recordation information as the business changes.
Where counterfeiting is already a concern, the strategy can also include product-identification materials, suspicious-import review, online marketplace enforcement, evidence preservation, cease-and-desist strategy, and consideration of additional legal remedies.
For businesses managing multiple trademarks, product categories, registrations, or international operations, CBP recordation can also be coordinated with broader trademark portfolio management and anti-counterfeiting planning.
The objective is not simply to place a trademark registration number into a customs database.
It is to give CBP useful information about the brand and its authentic products while creating an additional enforcement mechanism for potentially infringing merchandise before it enters the U.S. marketplace.
Record Your Trademark With CBP
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FAQ
Trademark Customs Recordation Questions
Is USPTO trademark registration automatically recorded with Customs?
No.
USPTO trademark registration and CBP recordation are separate processes.
After obtaining an eligible federal registration, the trademark owner must separately record the trademark through CBP’s e-Recordation program if border enforcement is desired.
Can I record a pending trademark application with CBP?
No.
CBP trademark recordation generally requires a valid registration on the USPTO Principal Register.
A pending trademark application does not qualify.
Can a Supplemental Register trademark be recorded with CBP?
No.
Trademarks appearing only on the USPTO Supplemental Register are not eligible for CBP trademark recordation.
Does Customs automatically seize every product using a similar trademark?
No.
CBP recordation does not mean that every shipment involving a similar mark will automatically be seized.
CBP applies applicable customs and intellectual property laws when determining whether merchandise should be detained, seized, forfeited, released, or otherwise handled.
Can CBP stop counterfeit products before they reach U.S. consumers?
Yes, in qualifying circumstances.
CBP can take enforcement action against qualifying infringing merchandise seeking entry into the United States.
Recordation can help provide the agency with information needed to recognize the trademark and distinguish authentic goods from suspected counterfeits.
Does CBP recordation apply at U.S. ports of entry?
CBP’s e-Recordation system makes information concerning recorded intellectual property available for border enforcement at U.S. ports of entry.
The outcome for a particular shipment still depends on the merchandise, evidence, and applicable law.
Should trademark owners give CBP photographs of genuine products?
Providing product photographs and identification information can be useful.
Authentic packaging, labels, serial numbers, construction details, codes, authentication features, and other characteristics may help CBP distinguish genuine products from counterfeits.
Can I update a CBP recordation if my manufacturers or licensees change?
Yes.
Existing recordation information can be updated when relevant details change, including contact information, licensees, manufacturers, subsidiaries, countries of manufacture, and other product or supply-chain information.
Does CBP recordation help with online counterfeiting?
CBP recordation is primarily focused on physical goods crossing the U.S. border.
Online counterfeiting may require additional enforcement through marketplaces, websites, social media platforms, domain name proceedings, cease-and-desist communications, or litigation.
Customs recordation can complement those measures when counterfeit goods sold online are being imported into the United States.
Can CBP recordation protect my trademark internationally?
No.
U.S. CBP recordation applies to U.S. border enforcement.
Businesses seeking similar protection outside the United States must evaluate trademark registration and customs enforcement procedures available in the relevant jurisdictions.
Protect Your Brand at the U.S. Border
Federal trademark registration can establish valuable rights, but businesses facing counterfeit imports may benefit from an additional layer of border protection.
CBP recordation can help connect federal trademark rights with practical information concerning authentic products, manufacturers, licensees, and supply chains.
For brands exposed to imported counterfeit goods, customs enforcement can complement marketplace enforcement, investigations, cease-and-desist strategy, litigation, and broader trademark portfolio management.
Cohn Legal assists trademark owners with CBP trademark recordation, trademark portfolio management, anti-counterfeiting strategy, and related trademark enforcement matters.
