United States v. Chong Lam
United States Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit
677 F.3d 190 (2012)
Chong Lam (defendant) ran companies importing and selling both legitimate and counterfeit handbags and wallets. Customs seized goods hidden among legitimate imports bearing marks that copied Burberry's registered plaid trademark, overlaid with an equestrian knight design that Burberry also used on some products. A jury convicted Lam of conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods, trafficking in counterfeit goods, and smuggling, finding the seized plaid pattern counterfeited Burberry's registered mark. Lam appealed his trafficking conviction, arguing his added knight overlay made his mark meaningfully different from Burberry's.
Whether a jury may find a mark counterfeit under 18 U.S.C. section 2320(a) when the alleged counterfeit is not identical to the registered trademark but shares its core distinguishing features.