Many in the sports and fitness industry face unfair competition from imported products, particularly from China. This unfair competition may come in many forms such as patent or trademark infringement, theft of trade secrets or false advertising. Legal mechanisms exist to address this unfair importation including trademark registration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and litigation. Members of the sports and fitness industry have found, however, that perhaps the most effective means for combatting unfair imports is a Section 337 Investigation before the U.S. International Trade Commission (“USITC”). Section 337 Investigations avoid many of the procedural difficulties of litigation while providing an effective and enforceable remedy, an exclusion order. An exclusion order, enforced by CBP, bars the importation of the accused product from importation into the United States. In recent years, the USITC has conducted investigations concerning sports and fitness-related products ranging from exercise machines to activity tracking or monitoring devices to shoes to arrowheads.

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