Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings for June 28
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated June 28 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
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H324813: Ruling Request; U.S. International Trade Commission; Limited Exclusion Order; Investigation No. 337-TA-1191; Certain Audio Players and Controllers, Components Thereof, And Products Containing the Same
| Ruling: Google has met its burden to establish admissibility with respect to the ’949 patent. Google has not met its burden to establish that the articles at issue incorporate the features or functionalities of a redesigned product adjudicated by the Commission not to infringe the ’896 patent. Therefore, the articles do not fall outside the scope of the 1191 LEO. The articles at issue are subject to exclusion from entry for consumption based on the 1191 LEO until Google: (1) disables or renders inoperable the Device Utility app such that it can no longer be used with the articles at issue and provide notice of this action or (2) establishes non-infringement for the articles at issue pursuant to an ancillary proceeding at the Commission or an inter partes proceeding requested from CBP under 19 C.F.R. Part 177 that addresses operation of the Device Utility app on the articles at issue.Google audio players such as Chromecast, Chromecast Ultra, Chromecast Audio, Home Mini, Nest Mini, Home, Home Max, Home Hub, Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, and Nest Wifi Point are not subject to exclusion from entry and, for purposes of Section 337, may be entered for consumption. |
| Issue: Whether Google has met its burden to establish that the articles at issue in Sonos’ Ruling Request incorporate the features or functionalities of a redesigned product adjudicated by the Commission to be non-infringing, without new or different functionality, such that they are not subject to the 1191 LEO? |
| Item: The articles at issue in this Ruling Request are certain Google controllers. (1) Pixel smartphones, (2) the Pixel Slate tablet, and (3) Pixel computers. |
| Reason: The burden is on Google to show, consistent with the Commission’s findings in the underlying investigation, that the products it imports are admissible into the U.S. Because the Google controllers running the new Device Utility app can send both the network identifier and security key in a single message, it cannot be said that the articles at issue are implementing the non-infringing ’896 patent redesign as the primary aspect of the redesign avoids transmitting both network parameters in a single message. |
| Ruling Date: June 3, 2022 |
H305264: Modification of NY N111878; Polyetheretherketone Powder
| Ruling: The PEEK described in NY N111878 has a country of origin of the United Kingdom for marking purposes. |
| Issue: whether the country of origin of the subject PEEK powder is Germany |
| Items: Untempered polyetheretherketone powder (“PEEK”) in the form of a fine powder is imported from the United Kingdom into Germany. PEEK is a thermoplastic polymer that can be used in engine parts and heat exchange applications. PEEK is an organic semi-crystalline engineering polymer in the polyaryletherketone family of plastics, which is one of the most important in additive manufacturing due to its high strength, temperature resistance and chemical resistance. In Germany, the PEEK is further processed by a tempering step. Tempering allows PEEK to be used at high temperatures in laser-sintering machines for dosing and recoating. Prior to this process, the raw material imported into Germany cannot be used for laser sintering. The tempered PEEK powder is intended for export to the United States for use in injection molding, extrusion, compression molding and composites for the manufacture of engine parts and in heat exchange applications. |
| Reason: Customs has generally held that a heat treatment will result in a substantial transformation only if alters the article’s mechanical properties to a significant extent. The tempering of the PEEK that takes place in Germany may enable the PEEK to be better suited for laser-sintering, the basic properties remain the same. |
| Ruling Date: May 27, 2022 |
H249992: Modification of NY N025677; Classification of Belts
| Ruling: Depending on whether the backing fabric is knit or not knit, the belts are classified under subheading 6117.80.95, 14.6%, “Other made up clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted; knitted or crocheted parts of garments or of clothing accessories: Other accessories: Other: Other,” or in subheading 6217.10.95, 14.6%, “Other made up clothing accessories; parts of garments or of clothing accessories, other than those of heading 6212: Accessories: Other: Other.” |
| Issue: Whether the belts are classified under heading 3926 as “articles of plastics,” heading 6117 as knitted “Other made up clothing accessories,” heading 6217 as not knitted or crocheted “Other made up clothing accessories,” or heading 9505 as “Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof.” |
| Items: The belts for two Santa Claus Costumes. Item No. CL181 is an adult unisex Santa Claus costume that consists of a top/jacket, pants, a hat, a belt, leg coverings, eyeglasses without lenses, a wig and a beard. Item No. CL182 is a child’s unisex Santa Claus costume that consists of a top/jacket, pants, a hat, a belt, and leg coverings. |
| Reason: Neither the top nor the pants in Item Nos. CL181 and CL182 were classified in Chapter 95, HTSUS. Therefore, the belts would also not be classified as an accessory to an article of heading 9505, HTSUS, and are not classifiable in subheading 9505.90.60. Note 2(p) to Chapter 39, HTSUS, excludes “[g]oods of section XI (textiles and textile articles)” from classification in Chapter 39. |
| Ruling Date: April 8, 2022 |