MAR 2-05 CO:R:C:V 730935 PMH
Mr. Daniel J. Shapiro
Office of General Counsel
Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.
P.O. Box 33428
St. Paul, MN 55133
RE: Country of origin marking for stick-on note pads sold
individually and in packages of twelve.
Dear Mr. Shapiro:
This is in response to your letter of September 9, 1987,
referred to us by Mr. Steve Ecklund at the Federal Trade
Commission. In your letter you request a ruling on whether the
country of origin marking on individual pads of stick-on
notepaper and on the cartons in which they may be packaged in
quantities of twelve, is sufficiently conspicuous. You state
that the notepads may be sold individually or in the twelve pack
cartons. We regret the delay in responding to this matter.
FACTS:
The submitted sample consists of one individual pad of
stick-on notepaper, which is two inches by three inches in size
and enclosed in cellophane wrapping, and a small cardboard
carton, which is two inches high and four inches long and in
which twelve individual pads may be packaged and sold. On the
cellophane wrapping at the front of the individual pad appear the
name "Dennison," the words "STICK ON NOTES" and a brief
description of the article. On the cellophane wrapping at the
back of the pad appear the name "Dennison Mfg. Co." and the
U.S.address "Framingham, MA 01701." The words "Made In Taiwan"
do not appear anywhere on the cellophane wrapping; they appear on
the back of the pad, itself, at the bottom of a list of
measurements and are substantially obscured by the bar code
symbol on the cellophane wrapping. The submitted cardboard
carton has four side panels and a bottom panel. On each of the
four side panels appear the name Dennison, the words "STICK ON
NOTES" and a brief description of the contents of the carton. On
the bottom panel appear the name and address of Dennison Mfg. Co.
and, in letters of comparable size, the words "MADE IN TAIWAN,
ROC."
-2-
ISSUE:
Whether the country of origin marking on the individually
wrapped pads of notepaper and on the cardboard cartons in which
they may be packaged and sold in quantities of twelve, complies
with the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304.
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. Part 134, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), sets forth regulations
implementing the country of origin marking requirements and
exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR 134.41), provides that the marking of an
imported product must be conspicuous enough so that the ultimate
purchaser will be able to find the marking easily and read it
without strain. In this case, since the pads of notepaper may be
purchased individually or in cartons of twelve, both the
individual pads and the cartons must be marked to indicate the
country of origin.
With regard to the submitted individual pad, it is our
opinion that the country of origin marking is not conspicuous.
The words "MADE IN TAIWAN" appear on the back of the pad and are
covered in part by the bar code symbol on the outer cellophane
wrapping. In addition, these words are at the bottom of a list
of measurements of comparable size. Due to this placing, the
country of origin marking is not readily visible to the ultimate
purchaser. To comply with the country of origin marking
requirements, the words "MADE IN TAIWAN" should be set apart from
the list of measurements and should either be positioned in such
a way that the words are not covered by the bar code symbol on
the cellophane wrapping or appear conspicuously on the wrapping
itself.
With regard to the submitted carton, it is our opinion that
the country of origin marking is sufficient. The words "MADE IN
TAIWAN, ROC" are conspicuously printed on the bottom panel of the
carton and would be readily visible to the ultimate purchaser.
-3-
Further, we note that while the U.S. address of Dennison Mfg. Co.
also appears on the bottom panel, the placement of this address
is in compliance with section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR
134.46). Section 134.46 requires that when the name of any city
or locality in the U.S., other than the country or locality in
which the article was manufactured or produced, appears on an
imported article or its container, there shall appear, legibly
and permanently, in close proximity to such words, letters or
name, and in at least a comparable size, the name of the country
of origin preceded by "Made in," "Product of," or other words of
similar meaning.
HOLDING:
Based on the above considerations and after examination of
the samples submitted, we find that the country of origin marking
on the individual pad of notepaper is not conspicuous, and
therefore, not in compliance with 19 U.S.C. 1304. We further
find that the words "MADE IN TAIWAN, ROC" which appear on the
carton are readily visible to the ultimate purchaser and that the
submitted carton is legally marked pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1304 and
19 CFR 134.46.
Sincerely,
Marvin M. Amernick
Chief, Value, Special Programs
and Admissibility Branch
cc: Mr. Steve Ecklund
Federal Trade Commission