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HQ 730935


January 10, 1989

MAR 2-05 CO:R:C:V 730935 PMH

CATEGORY: MARKING

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."

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.

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

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