Manufacture des Montres Rolex S.A. Bienne (Bienne), a Swiss company, is the manufacturer of Rolex watches. Bienne is the owner of the ROLEX trademark in Switzerland. Bienne sold the American rights to the ROLEX trademark to Rolex Watch USA Inc., a New York corporation. The importation of Rolex watches into the United States was forbidden unless imported for the account of Rolex USA. The distributor of Rolex watches is Montres Rolex S.A. (Rolex Geneva), located in Geneva, Switzerland. Bienne manufactures the watch movements and sells them to Rolex Geneva, which places them in casings and then distributes the watches worldwide. Rolex USA is wholly owned by the Wilsdorf Foundation, which also owns 86 percent of Rolex Geneva. Wilsdorf owns no shares of Bienne. Bienne has a five-member board of directors and seven officers, none of whom are officers or directors of Rolex Geneva, Rolex USA, or Wilsdorf. Sam’s Wholesale Club h ad 83 Rolex watches in its inventory. The watches, bearing the ROLEX trademark, were imported by Rolex Geneva and sold to Sam’s without Rolex USA’s permission. The Customs Service attempted to seize the 83 Rolex watches, but Sam’s argued that the watches were not gray market goods illegally imported into the United States because Rolex USA is under common ownership or control of a foreign company owning the trademark abroad, an exception to trademark infringement. May the Customs Service seize the 83 Rolex watches?
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