Owners of federal trademark registrations for goods can file to record their trademark with U.S. Customs. Customs agents will then be on the lookout for infringers and knock-offs – policing your trademark for you. And the cost for Customs recordation is just $190 per International Class of goods.
See https://apps.cbp.gov/e-recordations/ for information from Customs and Border Protection official website.
Also, trademarks recorded with Customs show up in their database (http://iprs.cbp.gov) which conceivably could be searched by importers prior to entering into an agreement and, if your trademark is in it, prevent an infringement or a shipment from ocuring without you lifting a finger or even knowing it.
While there is no guarantee that Customs will catch an infringing shipment, the potential value of such a catch far outweighs the $190 filing fee.
Lesson: If your company manufactures or sells branded goods, the cost of having a trademark registration and recording it with U.S. Customs will pay for itself many times over if just one infringing shipment is blocked or avoided. If you do business with or have manufacturing operations in China or other countries where knock-offs are known to frequently originate, the insurance provided by the Customs registration is even more likely to work for you.
