Customs Lowers Bar for Sharing Shipping Data: 'Reasonable Suspicion' Unlocks Your Operational Details to Rights Holders

This legislation aims to beef up intellectual property (IP) enforcement at the border by changing how Customs and Border Protection (CBP) handles information about suspected counterfeit goods. Specifically, it amends Section 628A of the Tariff Act of 1930, dropping the threshold for sharing nonpublic data from when CBP “suspects” a violation to when it has “reasonable suspicion.” That might sound like legal hairsplitting, but it’s a big shift in who gets to see your company’s operational secrets.

The New Standard: Lowering the Bar for Data Sharing

Under this change, if CBP has a "reasonable suspicion" of an IP violation—think counterfeit sneakers or pirated software coming through—they can now share nonpublic information about that merchandise with the IP rights holder. This is a lower bar than the previous requirement, meaning more data sharing is likely to happen. For the average person, this is about the balance between protecting big brands and protecting the privacy of small businesses and logistics companies that move the goods.

What Private Information Gets Shared?

This isn’t just about CBP seizing goods; it’s about sharing logistics data that was previously kept confidential. The bill explicitly allows CBP to share nonpublic information generated by online marketplaces, express consignment operators, freight forwarders, and other entities involved in importing. This includes details about the merchandise itself, its packaging, packing materials, and shipping containers. Imagine you’re a small business importing components; your shipping provider’s data—details about how you pack and ship—could now be handed over to a private company based on a lower standard of suspicion.

Who Gets to See Your Shipping Secrets?

The primary recipients of this newly accessible data are the IP rights holders—the companies that own the trademark or copyright. If you’re a logistics company, your clients’ sensitive shipping data could now be shared with their competitors (the rights holders) if there's a whiff of an IP issue. This raises concerns about competitive intelligence; are these rights holders using this sensitive, nonpublic operational data strictly for IP enforcement, or could it be used to gain insight into a competitor's supply chain? Even more vaguely, the bill grants the Commissioner broad discretion to share this information with "any other party with an interest in the merchandise, as the Commissioner determines is appropriate." That’s a huge, undefined loophole that could potentially allow sensitive data to land in the hands of third parties based purely on CBP's judgment.

The Real-World Trade-Off

For IP rights holders, this is a win. It gives them better tools and earlier access to data to combat the massive problem of counterfeit goods, which costs businesses billions. For importers, online marketplace sellers, and logistics companies, this means less privacy and a greater risk that their operational data will be shared with private entities based on a relatively low threshold of "reasonable suspicion." It’s a trade-off: stronger enforcement against fakes versus reduced confidentiality for everyone involved in the supply chain.