NFL cracks down on counterfeit Super Bowl souvenirs

12:54 AM CST on Thursday, January 29, 2004

By Jeremy Rogalski / 11 News

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Super Bowl XXXVIII is a big financial boost for Houston, but it's been a bust for one guy. That guy is in trouble with the law and the NFL because of the merchandise he's accused of selling. The NFL is cracking down to protect its trademark.

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The Harwin area of southwest Houston has a history of pushing knock-off merchandise onto the public. And when the Super Bowl comes to town, out comes the NFL on the lookout for counterfeiting.

NFL representatives went to a T-shirt printing shop in the 7000 block of Harwin Wednesday afternoon armed with a temporary restraining order signed by a federal judge.

The NFL seized around 200 shirts with counterfeit Super Bowl designs on the grounds they had infringed on the league's heavily guarded trademark.

The business owners said he e-mailed the designs to the NFL, called the league numerous times and got the go-ahead from his own attorney. But the business owner concedes that he did not actually get the NFL's permission.

Trademark violations do not just pop up during Super Bowl week, and do not just result in confiscated merchandise. As the Harwin business learned, it can be prosecuted as a big-time crime.

The storefront signs are innocuous enough touting household items, hardware, gifts and toys. But federal prosecutors say that XYZ Trading Corporation sold or tried to sell more than $500,000 in counterfeit merchandise last year. They were alleged knock-offs of brand name manufacturers such as Duracel, Gillette and more. "Another example were Nike slippers, all of us know Nike," says assistant U. S. attorney, Nancy Herrera. "Another was Spiderman, which is actually a trademark by Marvel."

Customs agents initially began focusing on XYZ after inspecting a shipping container at the border. After a six-month investigation a federal grand jury handed down a six-count indictment against the owner Wednesday. He was charged with trafficking in counterfeit merchandise. "Upon conviction on any one of these counts Mr. Ye faces up to 10 years in federal prison without parole and a $2 million fine," explains Herrera.

The owner of XYZ Trading Corporation is in federal custody, but a court date has yet to be set.

For the rest of the week the NFL along with the Houston police major offenders unit will be working the streets undercover, ready to spot and snatch up any bogus apparel from anyone trying to make a quick and easy buck.