When CBP detains or seizes merchandise on suspicion of infringing a recorded trademark, trade name or copyright, the rights owner may request a sample to examine. Before releasing it, CBP requires the rights owner to post an Activity Code 15 bond holding CBP and the importer harmless from any loss resulting from delivery of the sample.
The procedure is at 19 CFR § 133.21 and following. Historically a single-transaction filing, Activity Code 15 is now also recognized by CBP as a continuous bond covering multiple sample transactions across all ports of entry on a single instrument.
Who must post it
- Trademark, trade name and copyright owners with recordations at CBP.
- Brand-protection firms and counsel acting for rights owners, where the rights owner is the principal.
What the bond guarantees
- Indemnity to CBP and to the importer or owner of the article against loss or damage resulting from delivery of the sample.
- Return of the sample or accounting for it as CBP directs.
How CBP sizes it
- Single transaction: set per sample release by the port director.
- Continuous: a single penal sum covering all sample transactions during the bond period; a meaningful efficiency for rights owners with active enforcement programs.
Practitioner notes
- Rights owners receiving more than a handful of samples a year should move to the continuous form; it removes a bond from the critical path of every detention.
- Activity Code 15 still requires coordination with the port director where the bond is filed.
- The importer's mirror-image instrument is the Activity Code 8 bond.
Frequently asked questions
Is the IPR sample bond continuous?
It can be. CBP now accepts a continuous Activity Code 15 bond covering all ports.
Who is the principal?
The rights owner requesting the sample.
What does the bond protect against?
Loss or damage to the importer's merchandise resulting from CBP's delivery of the sample to the rights owner.
Primary sources
