HQ 0732946 - Country of origin marking of imported wearing apparel - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 732946
February 27, 1990

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 732946 KG

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Robert Glenn White
Stein, Shostak, Shostak & O'Hara, P.C.
Suite 1240
3580 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90010-2597

RE: Country of origin marking of imported wearing apparel

Dear Mr. White:

This is in response to your letter of December 1, 1989, requesting a country of origin ruling regarding imported wearing apparel with product labels that incorporate geographical names.

FACTS:

You submitted for examination four registered trademarks which contain geographical names that your client wishes to place on imported wearing apparel. The first trademark includes the name "Los Angeles" in the trademark. You submitted for examination the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office register (Reg. No. 1,445,261). You client intends to place this trademark on skirts, pants, shorts, vests, jackets and jeans, which will be properly marked with the country of origin of the wearing item.

The second trademark, which includes the initials "USA" in its center, will be silk-screened on T-shirts and sweatshirts. You submitted the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office register (Reg. No. 1,458,426) for examination.

The third trademark, which includes the phrase "California U.S.A." in its center, will be silk-screened on T-shirts and sweatshirts. You submitted the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office register (Reg. No. 1,458,437) for examination.

The fourth trademark, which also includes the phrase "California U.S.A." in its center will be silk-screened on T-shirts and sweatshirts. You submitted the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office register (Reg. No. 1,469,845) for examination.

Your client plans to mark the country of origin of all pants in the inside top-center of the waistband and for T-shirts and sweatshirts, in the inside top-center of the neck collar. You submitted the top portion of a pair of jeans which are marked with the phrase "Made in Hong Kong" in black lettering on a fabric label sewn in the top-center of the waistband. You also submitted a xerox copy of a small label with the phrase "Made in Hong Kong" in the center of the label that is a mock up of a fabric label your client plans to sew in the top-center neckband of the T-shirts and sweatshirts. The third exhibit is a xerox copy of small label with the phrase "Made in U.S.A." just below the brand name. This label would also be sewn on the inside collar of shirts, with the appropriate foreign country name replacing the initials "U.S.A."

ISSUE:

Whether imported wearing apparel with any of the four registered trademarks described above inscribed on the clothing and properly marked with the country of origin of the wearing apparel would satisfy the country of origin marking requirements.

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 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. 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, appears on an imported article in such a way as to be misleading to the ultimate purchaser, 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 mst 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. As provided in section 134.41, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41), country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain.

There is a significant body of ruling letters dealing with wearing apparel which has a locality imprinted on the outer garment as part of its design. In HQ 732412 (August 29, 1989), Customs ruled that jeans whose design included references to Kansas and marked with a bold, prominent fabric label attached to the top-center of the waistband was conspicuous and satisfied 19 CFR 134.46. Customs ruled in HQ 731614 (June 28, 1989), on a very similar case involving imported jeans containing a label with the words "LONDON SLIM" and the country of origin marking, "MADE IN JAPAN", appearing just below in smaller print. Based on an examination of the label, it was held that the country of origin marking was sufficiently conspicuous because it was prominently displayed. The typical consumer would readily notice the marking in that location and the lettering was bold and of sufficient size to be conspicuous so that the ultimate purchaser would be able to read the marking easily and without strain as provided in 19 CFR 134.41.

As was noted in that ruling, Customs has often distinguished those special cases in which the circumstances were such that reference to a place other than the country of origin on an imported article would not necessarily confuse the ultimate purchaser as to the true country of origin. For example, in HQ 723604 (November 3, 1983), and HQ 712013 ( January 16, 1980), Customs held that use of the abbreviation "USA" displayed prominently on imported women's wearing apparel did not trigger the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 because such marking was used as a symbol or decoration and would not reasonably be construed as indicating the country of origin of the article on which it appeared. Likewise, in C.S.D. 89-73 (February 2, 1989), Customs held that an imported man's pullover shirt which prominently displayed the words "Christian Dior, 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris 75008" across the back, did not invoke the application of 19 CFR 134.46 because the true country of origin of the article was indicated conspicuously on a label inside the neckband. Based on this body of ruling letters, the provisions of 19 CFR 134.47 would be satisfied if the wearing apparel containing one of the four registered trademarks described above, is otherwise properly and conspicuously marked with its country of origin in the inside top-center of the waistband of the pants or in the inside top-center of the neck collar of the T-shirts and sweatshirts.

HOLDING:

The provisions of 19 CFR 134.47 would be satisfied if the imported wearing apparel containing one of the four registered trademarks described above as part of the design of the garment, is properly and conspicuously marked with its country of origin in the proposed locations.

Sincerely,

Marvin M. Amernick
Chief, Value, Special Programs

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