Marking of Footwear.

NY C83093 February 4, 1998 CLA-2-64:RR:NC:347 C83093 CATEGORY: Marking Mr. John B. Pellegrini Ross & Hardies Park Avenue Tower 65 East 55th Street New York, NY 10022-3219 RE: Marking of Footwear. Dear Mr. Pellegrini: In your letter dated December 24, 1997, you requested a country of origin marking ruling concerning shoes imported by your client, Reebok International, Ltd. You ask whether a claim of intellectual property rights triggers the requirements of Section 134.46 of the Customs Regulations. Specifically, your concern arises from the placement of the statement "The Outsole Design is Protected by U.S. and International property Laws" which will be placed on the sock lining of the subject footwear. T.D. 97-72 which appeared in Customs Bulletin And Decisions, Vol. 31, No. 36, dated September 3, 1997 amended the subject regulation to ease the requirement that whenever words appear on imported articles indicating the name of a geographic location other than the true country of origin of the article, the country of origin marking always must appear in close proximity and in comparable size lettering to those words preceded by the words "Made in", "Product of" or other words of similar meaning. Customs believes that, consistent with the statutory requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the country of origin marking only needs to satisfy these requirements if the name of the other geographic location may mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser as to the actual country of origin. No sample of the footwear at issue has been provided, however, you have stated that you believe Reebok intends to mark the shoes in compliance with the marking statute, section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304) by a country of origin label affixed to the inside tongue of the shoe. We agree with your statement that the claim at issue will not mislead or deceive consumers as to the origin of the footwear we find therefore that if the footwear at issue is marked in a conspicuous place legibly, indelibly and permanently, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser the English name of the country of origin of the article, it will satisfy the requirement of 19 U.S.C. 1304. The requirements of Section 134.46 of the Customs Regulations will not be triggered by such marking. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of this ruling letter 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 this ruling, contact National Import Specialist, Richard Foley at (212) 466-5890. Sincerely, Robert Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division