HQ 0735519 - Country of origin marking requirements for ladies boots; marking on the soles; footwear; conspicuous; legible; 19 CFR 134.41; HRL 734662 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 735519
July 11, 1994

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 735519 RSD

CATEGORY: MARKING

Ms. Andrea C. Gonzalez
Tower Group International, Inc.
6730 Middle Belt Road
Romulus, Michigan 48174-2039

RE: Country of origin marking requirements for ladies boots; marking on the soles; footwear; conspicuous; legible; 19 CFR 134.41; HRL 734662

Dear Ms. Gonzalez:

This is in response to your letter dated December 17, 1993, addressed to the Area Director of the New York Seaport on behalf of Tender Tootsies Ltd., concerning the country of origin marking of ladies boots imported from Canada. We regret the delay in responding to your letter. The National Import Specialist at the New York Seaport has forwarded your letter to Customs Headquarters for a response. We have received two samples of the outersoles that will be used in making the boots.

FACTS:

You state that Tender Tootsies Ltd., is manufacturing ladies boots in Canada for importation and further sale in the United States. The merchandise will be entered through the ports of Detroit, Port Huron, and Buffalo.

The country of origin marking "Canada" is molded into the outersole of the boots in a non-contrasting color. The marking is in print of about .12 inches high or about 8.64 points. (A point is approximately .01384 inches or 1/72 of an inch and all type sizes are multiples of this unit). It is inside an oval, which is located midway on the sole near the arch area. A maple leaf is right above the marking.

On the other side of the sole the words "FABRIQUE CANADA MADE" appear. However, this marking probably will not be visible once the sole is attached to the boot upper.

In addition, in a letter dated December 2, 1993, from Tender Tootsies Inc., contained in your submission, it is stated that a label with Canada printed on it is sewn into the shaft of the boot. Although your submission contains a photcopy of a label with Canada printed on it, there is no indication how and where this label is attached to the boot. The letter also indicates that the word Canada is printed on the box, but we do not have a sample of the box.

ISSUE:

Is the country of origin marking on the outersole of a ladies boot as described above and shown on the sample soles sufficiently legible, conspicuous, and permanent to satisfy the requirements of the country of origin marking law?

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. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was 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." United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302 (1940). C.A.D. 104 (1940).

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. As provided in section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), the 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.

In HRL 733940 (October 24, 1991), in the case of a pen we indicated that there are certain factors that need to be considered in determining if the country of origin marking on an article is conspicuous within the meaning of 19 CFR 134.41 and 19 U.S.C. 1304. Among the factors that should be considered is the size of the marking, the location of the marking, whether the marking stands out, and the legibility of the marking. The size of the marking should be large enough so that the ultimate purchasers can easily see the marking without strain. The location of the marking should be in a place on the article where the ultimate purchaser could expect to find the marking or where he/she could easily notice it from a casual inspection. Whether the marking stands out is dependent upon where it appears in relationship to other print on the article and whether it is in contrasting letters to the background. The legibility of the marking concerns the clarity of the letters and whether the ultimate purchaser could read the letters of the marking without strain. No single factor should be considered conclusive by itself in determining whether a marking meets the conspicuous requirement of 19 CFR 134.41 and 19 U.S.C 1304. Instead, it is the combination of these factors which determines whether the marking is acceptable. In some cases, a marking may be unacceptable even when it is in a large size because the letters are too hard to read or it is in a location where it would not be easily noticed. In other cases, even if the marking is small, the use of contrasting colors, which make the letters particularly stand out, could compensate to make the marking acceptable.

In HRL 734662 (October 8, 1992), we ruled that markings placed on the bottom or side of a ski boot, if otherwise legible and permanent, are in a conspicuous place, that is, one in which it will be found easily by the ultimate purchaser. In that case, the markings on the submitted samples appeared on or near the sole and were injection molded in raised lettering. Although the markings were in non-contrasting colors, and color contrasting usually makes the marking easier to read, we pointed out that there is no specific requirement that the marking be in contrasting colors. Rather, to determine whether or not a marking is legible, Customs must consider all elements; the relief of the letters, the size and style of the print, the location, the format, etc. The marking was determined to be legible because of its particular relief, and because the nine point lettering was large enough to read without strain. The marking was also considered permanent because it was injection molded. In conclusion, we found that the country of origin on the sole of the ski boot satisfied the requirements of conspicuousness, permanence, and legibility.

In this case, we find that the country of origin marking on the sole of the boot is also sufficiently legible, conspicuous, and permanent to satisfy the requirements of 19 CFR 134.41 and 19 U.S.C. 1304. The ultimate purchaser should be able to find the marking easily from a casual inspection of the articles because of its location, in the middle of the outersole of the boot and the size of marking, in 8.64 points. In addition, size of the letters and the style of the print are large and clear enough that there should be no problem in reading the marking. Because the marking is molded into the sole and cannot easily be rubbed off, it is permanent.
Because the marking on the sole satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.41, there is no reason to consider the other markings on the sewn-in label and the box. In addition, we lack sufficient information, such as samples, to rule on whether these markings would be acceptable.

HOLDING:

The marking molded into the sole of the boot as shown on the samples is sufficiently legible, conspicuous, and permanent to satisfy the requirement of 19 U.S.C. 134.41 and 19 U.S.C. 1304.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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