MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 732816 NL
Richard G. Seley
Rudolph Miles & Sons, Inc.
4950 Gateway East, P.O. Box 144
El Paso, Texas 79942
RE: Country of Origin Marking of Imported Gloves
Dear Mr. Seley:
This is in response to your letter of October 5, 1989,
requesting a ruling on behalf of your client, Wells Lamont of
Chicago, Illinois.
FACTS:
Wells Lamont assembles leather gloves in Mexico, importing
them through El Paso, Texas. A sample was submitted. The gloves
are imported fully prepared to be hung for retail sale on display
racks. A heavy duty staple secures the gloves together at their
heel. The same staple secures a hanger and a display card,
which you describe as an identification ticket. The left glove
remains open so that the buyer can try it on for fit. On the
inside of the left glove is a cloth tag bearing product and size
information and the words "sewn in Mexico". The staple seals the
right glove closed. The outside of the identification ticket
shows the company name, glove style and size, and the words
"Assembled in Mexico". The back side of the identification
ticket (which faces the glove unless turned over) contains a
description of the product's design, the guarantee, patent and
trademark information, and an invitation to write to the
manufacturer at its Chicago address with comments. We assume
that this address is also provided so that buyers may write for
service under the guarantee. No information was provided
concerning the country of origin of the materials nor of the
manufacturing operations performed in Mexico. Therefore, we
offer no opinion concerning the acceptability of the wording
"Sewn in Mexico" or "Assembled in Mexico".
ISSUE:
Do the presence on the back of the display ticket of a U.S.
address, associated with a request for consumer comments, and
U.S. patent registration data, trigger the requirements of 19 CFR
134.46?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C.
1304), requires, subject to certain specified exceptions, that
every article of foreign origin imported into the U.S. shall be
marked to indicate the article's country of origin to the
ultimate purchaser in the U.S. The English name of the country
of origin must appear legibly, conspicuously, and permanently.
Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134) implements the
country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19
U.S.C. 1304.
The purpose of the marking statute was stated by the Court
of Customs and Patent Appeals in United States v. Friedlaender &
Co., 27 CCPA 297, 302, C.A.D. 104 (1940) as to permit the
ultimate purchaser, "by knowing where the goods were produced,
[to] be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should
influence his will." In furtherance of that purpose, the
Customs Regulations require that, in order to prevent confusion
to the ultimate purchaser, in any case in which the words
"U.S.", "American", 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 manufacture appears on an imported article or its
container, the name of the country of origin, accompanied by the
words "made in" or words to similar effect, must appear, legibly
and permanently, in at least a comparable size, and in close
proximity to such words or name. 19 CFR 134.46.
Upon examination of the sample and consideration of the
applicable precedents, it is our opinion that the country of
origin marking of the sample and its packaging present no risk of
deception or confusion to the ultimate purchaser. In addition
to the conspicuous country of origin label on the inside of one
of the gloves, the display ticket clearly and conspicuously
shows the gloves' country of origin on the side of the card which
is immediately apparent to the ultimate purchaser. On that side
of the display ticket there is no U.S. or foreign name other than
the country of origin.
The U.S. patent registration information and the U.S.
address which appear on the back of the display ticket also do
not raise the possibility of confusion or deception, since they
are not in a location directly apparent to the ultimate
purchaser at the point of sale. It appears that the purchaser
would need to disassemble the stapled pair of gloves from the
identification ticket in order to see the patent registration
information. The purchaser would need to turn over the card in
order to see the U.S. address. We conclude therefore, that while
the word "U.S." and the U.S. address are present on the
identification ticket, they are not in a location which could
influence an ultimate purchaser at the point of sale, and the
requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are not applicable.
Moreover, in HQ 732329 (Jul. 29, 1989) we ruled that 19 CFR
134.46 does not require that country of origin information appear
beneath a U.S. address printed on a warranty card so long as the
U.S. address appears for the purpose of giving the warranty
holder a place to direct questions and problems related to the
warranty. We find that the same reasoning applies to the U.S.
address printed on the back of the display ticket attached to the
submitted sample, and that the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are
not triggered.
HOLDING:
The requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 do not apply to a U.S.
address printed for purposes of offering purchasers a location to
pursue guarantee or customer satisfaction assistance, and the
U.S. patent information, both of which appear on the back of the
display ticket and are not sufficiently prominent to an ultimate
purchaser at the point of sale to present any possiblility of
confusion or deception.
Sincerely,
Marvin M. Amernick
Chief, Value, Special
Programs and Admissiblity
Branch.