US : Posted to YouTube , Rossmann advises in a video that he received a notice of seizure from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of “20 Apple Laptop Batteries.” According to the notice, the batteries are counterfeit, but Rossmann insists they are imports of “original” batteries.
The batteries were seized in Louisville, Kentucky on September 6, with the notice of seizure sent to Rossmann over a month later on October 15.
The notice claims the batteries “contains markings which are substantially indistinguishable from, and therefore, bear a counterfeit design/word/mark” of one owned by Apple. Under regulations, articles bearing counterfeit marks are to be seized and “forfeited for violation of the Customs laws.”
According to the notice, the appraised domestic value of the batteries is $1,068. Rossmann is advised in the letter he could file a petition within 30 days seeking remission of the forfeiture, an offer in compromise that could include a financial settlement, abandoning the goods, or referring it to the courts.
While not directly calling it revenge by Apple for his participation in a CBC report about Apple’s repair policies, Rossmann calls it a “crazy coincidence” that the Customs notice arrived a few days after that report’s broadcast, especially after importing them without issue for a number of years.
