CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The holiday season may have passed, but not the importation of popular items that consumers are eager to buy. It is U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) border security responsibility to ensure that these imports comply with all applicable U.S. laws, including consumer safety standards. When imports don’t, CBP removes them from circulation. 
 
 Recently, CBP’s Port of Charleston, S.C. did just that when officers seized two shipments containing 2,380 counterfeit hoverboards because they violated trademark protections, and because they posed a potential health risk to U.S. consumers. 
 
 If authentic, the hoverboards, which were manufactured in China, would have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $1,666,000. 
 
 “Enforcing product safety laws and protecting intellectual property rights is a top priority for Customs and Border Protection,” said Anthony Acrey, CBP’s Acting Area Port Director for the Port of Charleston. “By seizing untested and potentially hazardous products at our nation's borders, CBP officers protect the American consumer and contribute to keeping our communities safe beyond the holiday season." 
 
 
 
 CBP recently seized $1.6 million in counterfeit hoverboards in Charleston, S.C., for possessing counterfeit labels and potentially dangerous ion lithium batteries. 
 
 Hoverboards—self-balancing, two-wheeled, motorized platforms—are one of this year’s most popular items. However, major safety concerns have surfaced following reports of fires possibly caused by substandard and counterfeit lithium ion batteries within some hoverboards. 
 
 The swell of ccounterfeit hoverboards arriving at U.S. ports continue to be a concern for CBP. 
 
 CBP in Chicago recently announced a record seizure of more than 16,000 potentially unsafe hoverboards. Nationally, more than 50,000 potentially unsafe boards, with an estimated MSRP approaching $20 million, have been seized. 
 
 Counterfeit and pirated products threaten our economic security and undermine legitimate businesses that invest significant resources into manufacturing safe, quality products. Even worse, these products often pose serious health and safety hazards to the people who buy and use them. 
 
 CBP’s vigilant enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights protects America’s businesses against the threat of unfair and illicit competition from foreign companies, and prevents goods that may be dangerous to consumers or national security from entering the United States. 
 
 If you are aware of or suspect a company or individual of infringing your trademark or copyright, please report the trade violation to CBP at e-Allegations Online Trade Violation Reporting System. Trade violations can also be reported by calling 1-800-BE-ALERT. 
 
 For more information on CBP’s efforts involving counterfeit goods, visit IPR enforcement program. ||||| click to enlarge U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
 
 Two shipments containing 2,380 counterfeit hoverboards were recently discovered at the Port of Charleston 
 
 In what is sure to become the crime of the future, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently intercepted two shipments containing 2,380 counterfeit hoverboards entering the Port of Charleston.Yes, much like how Marty McFly commandeered a small child’s hoverboard to escape Griff Tannen and his gang in, so too have our local customs officers stepped in to outwit the criminals behind these potentially combustible conveyances.According to a press release from the CBP, which is tasked with ensuring that imports comply with U.S. regulations and safety standards, the seized hoverboards violated trademark protections and posed a potential health risk to consumers. Manufactured in China, these hoverboards would carry a suggested retail price of more than $1.6 million in the United States.This discovery by customs officials is just another example of the growing threat of counterfeit hoverboards arriving on American shores. According to the CBP, officers in Chicago recently seized more than 16,000 potentially unsafe hoverboards, and more than 50,000 boards have been confiscated across the nation.“Enforcing product safety laws and protecting intellectual property rights is a top priority for Customs and Border Protection,” said CBP’s acting area port director for the Port of Charleston, Anthony Acrey, in a statement. “By seizing untested and potentially hazardous products at our nation’s borders, CBP officers protect the American consumer and contribute to keeping our communities safe beyond the holiday season.”So remember next time you go down to the docks to get your hands on a fresh shipment of hoverboards, you’re not only putting yourself in danger — you’re putting America in danger too.
– Federal officers recently seized nearly 2,400 counterfeit—and possibly prone to explode—hoverboards in shipments that arrived at South Carolina's Port of Charleston, the Charleston City Paper reports. The hoverboards, which were made in China, would have been worth more than $1.6 million retail, according to US Customs and Border Protection. In addition to being a fire risk—possibly due to faulty lithium ion batteries—the counterfeit hoverboards also run afoul of US trademark law. "Remember next time you go down to the docks to get your hands on a fresh shipment of hoverboards, you’re not only putting yourself in danger—you’re putting America in danger too," the City Paper states. Counterfeit hoverboards have been an ongoing problem since the holidays, with more than 50,000 seized around the country.