MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 732690 KG
Norman Katz
Barnes, Richardson & Colburn
475 Park Avenue South
New York, N.Y. 10016
RE: Country of origin marking of imported camping articles with a
"Smokey Bear" logo
Dear Mr. Katz:
This is in response to your letter of August 29, 1989,
requesting a country of origin ruling regarding imported camping
articles imprinted with a "Smokey Bear" logo. We regret the
delay in responding to your inquiry.
FACTS:
Your client proposes to import camping articles imprinted
with the "Smokey Bear" logo. This logo has a picture of a bear
wearing a U.S. Forest Service hat in the center and the phrase
"U.S. Forest Service" in a ring around the picture. The phrase
"U.S. Forest Service and American Camper. Partners in Forest
Fire Protection" is below the circle.
You have enclosed pictures and samples of the packaging for
various camping items. For instance, a box that will hold a
canteen has a picture of a canteen in the center. The canteen is
clearly and legibly marked "Taiwan" below a crest. The phrase
"American Camper" and a logo appears in large bold letters on the
top of each side of the box. The "Smokey Bear" logo appears in
the upper right hand corner of the front of the box. Another
sample sent is a box proposed to hold a cook set. Again the
phrase "American Camper" appears in bold letters in the center of
each side of the box. Below it is a list of what the kit
includes and a picture of the items. Below the list, the "Smokey
Bear" logo appears. There is no country of origin marking on
this box.
In your letter you emphasized that both the imported
articles and the containers will be marked with the country of
origin.
ISSUE:
Whether the imported camping articles imprinted with the
"Smokey Bear" logo and the phrase "American Camper" described
above are properly marked in accordance with section 304 of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C.
1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign
origin imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous
place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the
article (or container) will permit, in such a manner as to
indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name
of the country of origin of the article. The Court of
International Trade stated in Koru North America v. United
States, 701 F.Supp. 229, 12 CIT ___(CIT 1988), that: "In
ascertaining what constitutes the country of origin under the
marking statute, a court must look at the sense in which the term
is used in the statute, giving reference to the purpose of the
particular legislation involved. The purpose of the marking
statute is outlined in United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27
CCPA 297, 302, C.A.D. 104 (1940), where the court stated that:
"Congress intended that the ultimate purchaser shoud be able to
know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the
country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose
is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate
purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able
to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence
his will."
Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements
the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19
U.S.C. 1304. In determining whether the marking is acceptable,
Customs will take into account the presence of words or symbols
on an article which may mislead the ultimate purchaser as to the
country of origin. Consequently, if the words "United States,"
or "America," the letters "U.S.A.," any variation of such words
or letters, or the name of any city or locality in the U.S., or
the name of any foreign country or locality other than the
country of origin appear on an imported article, special marking
requirements are triggered.
Section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46),
requires that in such case, the name of the country of origin
must appear legibly, permanently, and in close proximity to such
words, letters, or name, and in at least a comparable size. The
name of the country of origin must appear preceded by "Made
in,""Product of," or other words of similar meaning. However,
section 134.47, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.47), provides
that when as part of a trademark or trade name or as part of a
souvenir marking, the name of a location in the U.S. appears, the
article shall be legibly, conspicuously, and permanently marked
to indicate the name of the country of origin of the article
preceded by words "Made in," "Product of," or other similar
words, in close proximity or in some other conspicuous location.
In such circumstances, no comparable size requirement exists.
The question presented in this case is whether either the
"Smokey Bear" logo (which contains both the phrase "U.S. Forest
Service" and "American Camper", followed by "Partners in Fire
Protection") or the phrase "American Camper" when it appears
separate from the the "Smokey Bear" logo triggers the
requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 or 134.47.
We conclude that the "Smokey Bear" logo does not trigger any
special country of origin marking requirements because it will
not confuse or mislead an ultimate purchaser as to the origin of
the imported articles. The logo merely indicates that the U.S.
Forest Service and American Camper are partners in fire
protection and has nothing to do with where the article was
manufactured. It would be highly unlikely that the ultimate
purchaser would conclude that the product was manufactured in the
U.S. on the basis of the logo alone, assuming the general
requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 are satisfied.
The words "American Camper", however, may be confusing to
the ultimate purchaser when they do not appear as an integral
part of the "Smokey Bear" logo. Inasmuch as American Camper is
the name of the line of camping articles that are being sold, the
ultimate purchaser might conclude from this phrase by itself that
the articles in question were made in the U.S. Therefore,
assuming "American Camper" is a trade name or registered
trademark, and the phrase appears separate from the "Smokey Bear"
logo, the requirements of 19 CFR 134.47 apply.
Since the sample articles were not submitted, Customs cannot
rule on whether or not the articles are properly marked. The
only country of origin marking that appears is on the box to hold
the canteen. The picture of the canteen with the phrase "Taiwan"
legibly and conspicuously appears on all sides of the box.
However, the word "Taiwan" is not preceded by the phrase "Made
in," "Product of," or words of similar meaning as required by
19 CFR 134.47. If the phrase "Made in," "Product of," or
similar words precede the word "Taiwan" and the phrase is
conspicuous and legible, 19 CFR 134.47 would be satisfied.
HOLDING:
The "Smokey Bear" logo does not trigger any special marking
requirements. Assuming the phrase "American Camper" is a trade
name or registered trademark, the requirements of 19 CFR 134.47
apply to the phrase when it appears separate from the "Smokey
Bear" logo. Since the imported articles were not submitted, we
are not ruling as to whether or not the imported articles are
properly marked. The containers must be conspicuously, legibly
and permanently marked with the country of origin preceded by the
phrase "Made in," "Product of," or words of similar meaning.
Sincerely,
Marvin M. Amernick
Chief, Value, Special Programs
and Admissibility Branch