Grassley Raises Awareness of Sports Knockoffs at Congressional Trademark Caucus Event

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Congressional Trademark Caucus, delivered remarks this week at a congressional briefing organized by the International Trademark Association, the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Innovation Policy Center. The briefing addressed the growing problem of counterfeits in sports apparel and merchandise.

Prepared Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Congressional Trademark Caucus Co-Chair
"March Madness and Counterfeits"
Tuesday, March 24, 2026

As co-chair of the Congressional Trademark Caucus, I'm pleased you're here to learn about protecting yourselves and your constituents from counterfeit goods.

The business of selling counterfeit consumer goods is growing, costly and dangerous.

Increasingly, criminal actors are taking advantage of sports fans to sell fake memorabilia and even fake sporting event tickets.

These bad actors are increasingly abusing the e-commerce marketplace to pass off counterfeits and stolen goods as the real thing.

This briefing is timely as many of us are watching the NCAA tournament, so it's a good time to raise awareness about this important issue.

Sports is one touchstone that unites Americans. Iowans are proud to have three men's teams and two women's teams participate in this year's March Madness.

Sports fans shouldn't have to worry about getting cheated when they decide to buy a ball cap, a jersey or a ticket to the game.

Many Americans have fallen victim to buying fake autographed baseballs, footballs and other sports memorabilia. And the danger doesn't end there.

Fake sports equipment doesn't have the same safety precautions guaranteed by legitimate sellers.

Helmets save lives. But counterfeits can lead to severe injury, because counterfeiters don't bother with abiding by safety regulations.

They care only about making a quick buck and making their knockoffs look genuine.

Just last month, Americans watched the USA compete in the Olympics.

Those young men and women showed us the best of American sports culture. Watching them play their hearts out brought Americans together.

To preserve American sports culture, we must protect the integrity of the marketplaces that fans frequent.

Even more critically, we have to do our part to ensure kids are wearing safe and authentic protective gear.

We all have a part to play to combat counterfeiting.

As Co-chair of the Congressional Trademark Caucus, I've led efforts to protect American consumers.

Last August, Senator Hassan and I introduced a bipartisan bill to help fight counterfeits.

Our legislation will make it easier to root out illegal goods by letting Customs and Border Protection share suspected counterfeiters' packing and shipping information with key intellectual property rights holders.

I was also a cosponsor of a bill called the INFORM Consumers Act that took effect in 2023.

This law requires online marketplaces that sell goods from third-party sellers to collect, verify and disclose information about these sellers. It helps the government find and stop fraud.

Last September, the Federal Trade Commission reached a consent order in its first case under this statute.

The parent company that operates Temu, agreed to change its practices, be more transparent and pay a fine.

I want to make sure the INFORM Act is doing what we intended, and if the law could be improved, I'm asking you to let me know your views.

Looking ahead, I'm eager to hammer out "shop safe" legislation to protect consumers by strengthening the safety and integrity of the online marketplace.

Today, we have an opportunity to increase consumer awareness. Understanding the dangers of counterfeit and stolen goods sold online is key to stopping the problem.

We all must understand the scale of the problem and be cautious when we shop online.

Our panelists today will help us recognize the problem and provide information to share with our constituents.

I'd like to thank our panelists, and I'd like to thank my Trademark Caucus co-chair, Senator Coons, for his continued partnership on this important initiative.

I'd also like to thank the International Trademark Association, the International

Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Innovation Policy Center for their help putting this event together.

I encourage the audience to check out the tables in the back, where we'll have a show-and-tell of counterfeit goods.

This hands-on experience will help you understand the extent of the problem we're facing.

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