The Tariff Act of 1930[1] (“Act”) provides that infringement of patent and registered trademark rights[2] to be unfair practices in the importation of goods into the United States. The Act is implemented by the United States International Trade Commission (“Commission”) which is an agency of the United States government that serves a bi-partisan function to advise the President, Office of the United States Trade Representative, and Congress on matters related to international trade. In addition, it also has a judicial function which is too often overlooked by apparel companies seeking to enforce its rights against importers of goods which infringe their intellectual property rights. Globalization of the fashion industry means that it is more likely than not a domestic United States enterprise will directly or indirectly be involved in the international sale of goods. Thus, the Commission may seem to be an obvious avenue of recourse to…
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