Pokemon Knockoffs

They may not have caught them all, but more than 86,000 counterfeit Pokémon are off the streets thanks to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Pennsylvania.

Inspection of incoming shipments from Hong Kong revealed a manifest for 15 shipping boxes that had been said to contain “plastic furnishing articles.” Upon further inspection, the boxes contained knockoff Pokémon action figures. According to the CBP, authentic figures would have carried a retail price of approximately $604,000.

“In addition to protecting the trademark holder’s intellectual property (IP) rights, Customs and Border Protection’s primary concern with counterfeit consumer goods is the potential harm they can cause to American consumers, such as the choking hazard these figurines pose to children,” says Michelle Stover, CBP’s port director for the Port of Harrisburg. “CBP officers remain committed to working with our consumer safety partners to protect American consumers by seizing dangerous counterfeit goods at our nation’s ports of entry.”

The bootleg Pokémon were en route to an address in Snyder County, Pennsylvania when seized for violating U.S. IP rights.

In 2017, Wicked Cool Toys, now a Jazwares company, became the master licensee to produce Pokémon figures. At the time, the Pokémon Co. International also became a strategic investor in the company. At Toy Fair New York this year, Wicked Cool unveiled a new collection of Legendary Pokémon toys.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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