[flyXwire]

Don't know if this is worth reading for our fellow Canadian forumites, but here goes:

On the front page of today's Great Falls, Montana Tribune

Toys for Tots receives 3,876 action figures to give away after Customs seizure for trademark violation

About $200,000 worth of toy action figures, detained at the U.S. and Canadian border in November for trademark violations, were donated to the Toys for Tots program in Montana Tuesday for the upcoming Christmas season.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents said 3,876 action figures, manufactured in China, were on a tractor-trailer headed for American stores and consumers.

A Canadian seller was shipping the toys to an importer in California when agents discovered "Motorola" marked on some toy accessories inside the packages, Area Port Director Larry Overcast said.

The company was contacted, and officials learned the toys were not part of an authorized shipment. The importer also was unauthorized by the company, he said. So port officials seized the toys Jan. 7.

"The trademark holder usually decides if the seized items should be destroyed or sold for export only, but they authorized the donation to the Toys for Tots," Overcast said.

Marv Brewster, the Great Falls coordinator for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Campaign, said some of the 3,000 kids the organization helps in the Electric City will be receiving the 12-inch figures, dressed in military clothing.

Brewster was at the Port of Sweetgrass Tuesday to help prepare the shipment to Great Falls next week. I & T Transfer of Shelby, which stores detained and seized items for the port, will ship the items for free to Great Falls, officials said.

Brewster said Toys for Tots will then divide the items between Great Falls, Billings and Helena.

"It's wonderful. And we're in the business of accepting toys," Brewster said. "This gives us a boost when we start collecting in the fall. It's a boost we often don't have."

Overcast said agents at the port have seized other items with trademark violations, such as sporting goods with major brand labels and clothing. But the action figures were the largest seizure involving trademark violations the port has ever experienced, he said.

"Its nice something like this can have a good ending," Overcast said.

[Epapazian]

Maybe the same thing is holding up the P-51B and P-40E that have been "on the way" for so long. I wonder. Are the containers carrying these models having trouble getting to the shipyards?

[smartd]

That's cool, at least the kids will benefit.

[Biggie]

Sounds good for the kids, but what a crock of crap overall, Geez, Motorola could not get there cut, wow, what a load this one is.

Based on the size of these I am guessing, we are talking a name that probably needs a microscope to read, now when Dragon raises there prices due to this load of crap, all the collectors will be complaining, then when they raise the price also cause they have to give some stupid company a cut of what I think is a tiny profit on these things, then everyone will be mad at Dragon again..

Smaller Companies get screwed all the time nowaday's so some arsehole can make a name for himself,, prove his importance, hey hey hey, I see this little marking on this tiny radio phone, its samsung , no sanyo, no Motorola and I bet its illegally being used, Lets call them and see if they are allowed to use this, completely stupid stuff in my opiniion.

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME, what a giant waste of time and money .

Biggie

[STARMAN 352ND]

Got to be kidding me.........
Wow.
JP