COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED WOMEN’S DRESSES

N132393 December 6, 2010 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:TAB:359 CATEGORY: MARKING Ms. Regina White Pacific Alliance USA Inc. 1359 Broadway – 21 Floor NY, NY 10018 RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED WOMEN’S DRESSES Dear Ms. White: This is in response to your letter dated November 3, 2010, requesting a ruling concerning the proper country of origin marking of a women’s dress by means of screen printing on a printed fabric background at the rear neckline and use of a sewn-in care label at the lower side seam to which the country of origin marking will be added. The provided sample is being returned as per your request. Style FCSK0018 is a “UK STYLE French Connection” brand women’s sleeveless dress constructed of a 96% rayon 4% spandex jersey fabric. The dress fabric is a gray color with a prominent dark black dot design printed on the outer surface. The garment has a cowl front neckline and a straight hemmed garment bottom. Additionally, the garment features a high straight rear neckline with an 8 inch long half-moon shaped inner lining sewn into the rear neckline seam and shoulder seams. The dress extends to the knee area. On the printed fabric inner rear neckline liner you propose to screen print (using black ink) five lines of centered wording. The first line will have “UK” in bold lettering approximately 6/16 inches high; the second line will have “STYLE” in bold lettering approximately 2/16 inches high. Centered below, “FRENCH CONNECTION” is printed in lettering 2/16 inches high. On the next line, “S” is printed representing the garment size of the submitted sample. The last line of marking is “MADE IN VIETNAM” in lettering approximately 1/16 inch high. Due to the dot design printed fabric background onto which the screen printed lettering is applied, the marking is difficult to read without straining. As discussed with you, a federal trademark registration has been filed for the “UK STYLE BY FRENCH CONNECTION” trademark. 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). Part 134 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304.     Treasury Decision (T.D.) 54640(6) (1958) provides, in pertinent part, as follows:Subject to the exceptions from marking provided for under section 304(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended..., wearing apparel, such as shirts, blouses, coats and sweaters, etc., must be legibly and conspicuously marked with the name of the country of origin by means of a fabric label or label made from natural or synthetic film sewn or otherwise permanently affixed on the inside center of the neck midway between the shoulder seams or in that immediate area or otherwise permanently marked in that area in some other manner. (Emphasis added.) In regard to whether a marking is "conspicuous," section 134.1(k) Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(k)), defines the term as "capable of being easily seen with normal handling of the article or container." Further, according to 19 CFR 134.41(b), "[t]he ultimate purchaser in the United States must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain." In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 733940 dated October 24, 1991, Customs stated that in regard to the conspicuousness requirement of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the factors to be considered include 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 purchaser can easily see the marking without strain. The location of the marking should be in a place 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 on where it appears in relationship to other print on the article and whether it is in contrasting colors to the background. 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. 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. We find that the proposed screen print country of origin marking for the dress, as represented by the sample submitted, does not meet the conspicuous requirements set forth in 134.41 (b), Customs Regulations 19 CFR 134.41 (b), as the screen printed country of origin marking is not legible over the printed fabric background of the dress. The ultimate purchaser will not find the marking easily and will not be able to read it without strain. As the garment does have a rear neckline to accommodate the marking, a sewn on label as directed in T.D. 54640(6) located on the inside center of the rear neck midway between the shoulder seams will be necessary. Also see Headquarters Ruling 560721 dated October 29, 1997, which affirms that garments that contain necklines and cover the entire torso should be marked at the inside center of the neckline. The proposed country of origin marking on the care label at the lower left side seam is not easily and readily visible to the ultimate purchaser. Therefore, the country of origin marking on the care label located in the lower side seam of the imported garment is not conspicuous and does not constitute an acceptable country of origin marking in satisfaction of the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134. Although 19 CFR 19 CFR 134.47 applies when a locality reference appears as part of a trademark, Customs has accepted a filed application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as sufficient evidence of a trademark for purposes of 19 CFR 134.47. In this regard, we note that the name of the country of origin on the garment screen print is in extremely small lettering compared to the trademark name. The fact that the country of origin lettering is only 1/16 of an inch high and appears at the very bottom of the garment marking makes it difficult to find. Therefore, we suggest that the country of origin lettering, on a label at the rear neckline be enlarged, so that it will be readily visible. However, please note if the “UK STYLE BY FRENCH CONNECTION” trademark application is denied, the more restrictive requirements of 19 CFR 134.46, as outlined above, will need to be satisfied. 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 Francine Vivona-Brock at (646) 733-3049. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division