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NY R00444




June 16, 2004

MAR-2 RR:NC:2:224 R00444

CATEGORY: MARKING

Diane Takayama
Hawaiian Pro Designs, Inc.
PO Box 4248
Carlsbad CA 92018

RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING of imported surfboards.

Dear Ms. Takayama:

This is in response to your electronic communication dated June 6, 2004, requesting a ruling on whether a proposed country of origin marking is an acceptable marking for imported surfboards if another marking appears on the surfboards containing a reference to a country or locality other than the actual country of origin of the article. A marked sample was not submitted with your letter for review.

You state that a company called “Surftech,” a producer of surfboards in California, imports surfboards from Thailand using their technology to manufacture your “Hawaiian Pro Designs” surfboards. You assert that the imported surfboards display a reference to the country of origin “Thailand” and that the boards also bear your company logo “Hawaiian Pro Designs.” However, you fail to state where these marks are located on the board, or their degree of legibility or permanency. You have provided a copy of a United States Patent and Trademark Office document indicating that the phrase “Hawaiian Pro Designs” is a registered trademark. You are concerned about the country of origin requisites triggered by the existence of conflicting references to geographic localities on the imported surfboard products.

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 134.47, 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, in this case “Thailand,” 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.

Guided by the principles of this ruling, we suggest you submit a proposed marking of the imported surfboards as described above to the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection import specialist handling your import transactions. That officer must be satisfied that the marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.47 are met and the mark is an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported surfboards.

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 Tom McKenna at 646-733-3025.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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