MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734568 KR
Mr. Duncan A. Nixon
Sharretts, Paley, Carter & Blauvelt, P.C.
1707 L Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
RE: Country of Origin Marking Donna Karan Handbags and
Briefcase.
Dear Mr. Nixon:
This is in response to your letter dated March 24, 1992, and
a facsimile dated July 22, 1992, on behalf of Donna Karan New
York requesting a ruling concerning the proper country of origin
marking on handbags and a briefcase which are manufactured in
Korea and imported to the U.S. Two samples of handbags and a
sample briefcase were submitted for examination.
FACTS:
One submitted handbag, item number 610309A, is a blue
leather handbag measuring 10 1/2 inches x 6 1/2 inches x 10
inches. There are two outside pockets, an inside zippered
compartment, a zippered top closure with brass rings on each end
of the zipper and on the zipper pull, and a 25 inch leather
carrying strap. On the inside front panel of the handbag is a
sewn in label stating:
DKNY
Donna Karan New York
On the inside side seam of the handbag is a cloth loop label sewn
on one end to the handbag printed with "MADE IN KOREA" on each
side of the loop label. The inner lining of the handbag has DKNY
repeatedly sewn into the lining material in matching color
thread.
The second handbag, item number 610302, is a tan leather
handbag measuring 3 inches x 6 inches x 5 1/2 inches. There is a
snap closure and 48 inch strap attached to the handbag with two
brass rings. This handbag has the same sewn in label, loop label
and inner lining as the first handbag.
The briefcase, item number 610311, is made of tan leather
measuring 17 inches x 5 inches x 12 inches. There is a zipper
closure on top of the bag, a zippered interior pocket, two 24
inch tan leather handle straps attached to the body of the
briefcase by brass rings. The briefcase has the same interior
labels and lining as described above for the handbags.
You state that the sewn in label on the inside front panel
of each of the items is the registered trademark for the
manufacturer, Donna Karan. You submitted copies of the two
trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
for Donna Karan. The first, Reg. No. 1,635,537, is listed as
"FOR: PANTYHOSE, TIGHTS AND SOCKS" and is described as:
"CONSISTS OF THE BLOCK LETTERS 'DKNY' WITH THE WORDS 'DONNA
KARAN, NEW YORK' ON RAGGED CONCENTRIC CIRCLES DESIGN WITH
'COVERINGS' ACROSS THE DIAMETER OF THE CIRCLES."
The second registered trademark, Reg. No. 1,586,768, is
"FOR: HANDBAGS, CLUTCH PURSES, SHOPPING BAGS MADE OF LEATHER,
POUCHES, TOTE BAGS, WEEKENDER BAGS, COSMETIC BAGS SOLD EMPTY,
BACKPACKS. ATTACHES, SATCHELS, BELT BAGS, WALLETS, BUSINESS CARD
CASES AND TRAVEL KITS SOLD EMPTY". The second trademark consists
only of the block letters "DKNY".
ISSUE:
Whether the proposed marking on the handbags and briefcase
described above satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, 19
CFR 134.46, and 19 CFR 134.47.
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 purpose of the
marking statute is outlined in United States v. Friedlaender &
Co., 27 CCPA 297 at 302, C.A.D. 104 (1940), where the court
stated that: "Congress intended that the ultimate purchaser
should 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. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR
134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S.
must be able to find the marking easily and read it without
strain.
19 U.S.C. 1304, requires that the country of origin marking
be "conspicuous". 19 CFR 134.41(b) states that the ultimate
purchaser "must be able to find the marking easily and read it
without strain." In addition 19 CFR 134.46, requires that when
the name of any city or locality in the U.S., or the name of any
foreign country or locality other than the name of the country or
locality in which the article was manufactured or produced,
appear on a 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. Customs has ruled that
in order to satisfy the close proximity requirement, the country
of origin marking must appear on the same side(s) or surface(s)
in which the name of the locality other than the country of
origin appears. HQ 708994 (April 24, 1978). The purpose of 19
CFR 134.46 is to prevent the possibility of misleading or
deceiving the ultimate purchaser as to the origin of the imported
article.
Customs Regulations 19 CFR 134.47, requires a slightly less
restrictive marking than 134.46 when the location name other
than the country of origin appears as part of a trademark. Under
134.47, when the name of a place other than the country of
origin appears as part of a trademark or trade name or as part of
a souvenir marking, the name of the actual country of origin must
appear in close proximity to the place "or in some other
conspicuous location". In other words, if the question concerns
a trade name or trademark, the country of origin marking needs
only to meet the general standard of conspicuousness. Under
either 134.46 or 134.47, the name of the country of origin must
be preceded by "Made in", "Product of", or words of similar
meaning. See HQ 734175 (February 24, 1992); HQ 734277 (December
24, 1991).
The handbags and briefcase have the marking "DKNY" on the
sewn in label and in many places in the pattern of the interior
lining. This symbol is a registered trademark. Further, while
the letters might stand for Donna Karan New York, in the format
in which they appear, the four letters together "DKNY" do not
refer to a U.S. geographic location other than the country of
origin of the products. Therefore, "DKNY" does not trigger the
requirements of either 19 CFR 134.46 or 134.47.
However, underneath "DKNY" the sewn in label also states
"Donna Karan New York". In reviewing the two trademarks
registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, we find
that only one applies to handbags and briefcases. The other
registered trademark applies to pantyhose tights and socks.
Further, the inapplicable trademark has "New York" appearing in a
different format than it appears on the handbags and briefcase.
The applicable trademark, Reg. No. 1,586,768, consists only
of "DKNY". Therefore, the requirements of 19 CFR 134.47 do not
apply in this situation as "New York" is not part of the
trademark. Therefore the more stringent requirements of 19 CFR
134.46 apply. See HQ 734293 (October 24, 1991).
In this ruling request, the handbags and briefcase have a
sewn in label in the inside side seam which states "MADE IN
KOREA". Customs held in HQ 732691 (May 8, 1990), that a fabric
label sewn into the side seam of the inside of a tote bag and
handbag is an acceptable location for a country of origin marking
to be located as long as the label can be easily found by the
ultimate purchaser. See also HQ 732810 (January 26, 1990)
(allowing a sewn in label marked on two sides with the country of
origin as long as the label was not sewn into the side seam too
deep inside the bag). We find that the three samples in this
case have an easily found label sewn into the side seam of each
of the samples. Therefore, we find that this satisfies the
requirements of 19 CFR 134.46.
HOLDING:
The country of origin marking appearing on the handbags and
the briefcase is sufficient to meet the requirements of 19 U.S.C.
1304, 19 CFR 134.46.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director