NY J89985 - COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED JEANS - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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NY J89985

October 10, 2003

MAR-2 RR:NC:WA:355 J89985

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Jason M. Waite
Alston & Bird LLP
601 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
North Building, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20004-2601

RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED JEANS

Dear Mr. Waite:

This letter is issued to replace NY ruling J88825 wherein trademark ownership was erroneously attributed to your client instead of to your client’s customer. This replacement letter does not change the decisions held in NY J88825. The letter with appropriate corrections follows:

This is in response to your letter dated September 12, 2003, on behalf of Knight Textile Corporation. You are requesting a ruling on whether the proposed marking "Made In Paraguay" is an acceptable country of origin marking for imported men’s jeans if another marking "Old College InnClothing Company Knoxville, Tennessee" appears on the article containing a reference of a country or locality other than the actual country of origin of the article. Two marked samples were submitted with your letter for review.

Both samples have trademarked labels placed in the same location on the garment. These labels carry the following; “Old College Inn”; “Clothing Company”, “Knoxville, Tennessee”. In a telephone conversation you stated that “Old College Inn” is a registered trademark for your client’s customer. Both of the labels, both made of paperboard, appear on the backside of the jeans. One label is folded over the top of the waistband, is secured by a tag-it, and displays sizing information as well as the trademark. The second label is folded over the back patch pocket, is secured by a tag-it and, in addition to the trademark, carries the type of jean, in this instance, “Utility”.

The label containing the country of origin information is displayed on two different locations on the jeans. In addition to origin information, this label contains care information, the RN number and fiber content. On the first jean, this label is sewn into the bottom of the back of the waistband and is very prominent when one holds the jeans up for inspection. On the second jean, the label is sewn into the side of the front fly opening, approximately three inches down from the waistband and two inches off the side of the fly opening. It is not as conspicuous when inspecting the jeans.

The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its 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.

Section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), deals with cases in which the words “United States” or “American”, the letters “U.S.A.”, any variation of such words or letters, or the name of any city or locality in the United States, or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the country or locality in which the article was manufactured or produced, appears on an imported article or its container, and those words, letters or names may mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser as to the actual country of origin. In such a case, 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.

In order to satisfy the close proximity requirement, the country of origin marking must generally appear on the same side or surface in which the name or locality other than the actual country of origin appears.

Section 134.47, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.47), provides that 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 name "or in some other conspicuous location". Whether the country of origin appears "in close proximity" or in some other conspicuous place, the name of the country of origin must be preceded by "Made in," "Product of," or words of similar meaning. In other words, if the question concerns a trademark, trade name or souvenir marking, the country of origin marking need only meet the general standard of conspicuousness.

Both pairs of jeans contain labels that refer to localities other than the country of origin, incorporated into the trademark logo. You have stated that “Old College Inn” is a registered trademark. Customs has previously held that such is sufficient for determining whether the requirements of 19 CFR134.47 (rather than 134.46) apply. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 734455, dated July 1, 1992. The trademark label is not in close proximity to the origin marking however; the requirement for trademarks allows the origin marking to be in another conspicuous location. The marking label which contains washing instructions, origin marking, fiber content and other information, is in the standard location where a consumer would look for such information. The label is readily accessible and is considered a conspicuous location. The trademark label satisfies the requirements of Section 134.47 CR.

The proposed marking of imported men’s jeans, the jeans where the label is on the inside of the back of the waistband, satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134 and is acceptable country of origin marking for the imported garments.

The location of the label on the second pair of jeans, where the label is located on the inside alongside the zipper, is also considered conspicuous, satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134 and is also acceptable country of origin marking for the imported garments. (Headquarters Ruling Letters 733737 and 733776, February 11, 1991 and January 23, 1991 respectively, noted.)

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 177).

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Camille R. Ferraro at 646-733-3046.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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