United States v. Imperial Products, Inc.

570 F.2d 337, 65 C.C.P.A. 38, 1978 CCPA LEXIS 335
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedFebruary 9, 1978
DocketNo. 77-9
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 570 F.2d 337 (United States v. Imperial Products, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Imperial Products, Inc., 570 F.2d 337, 65 C.C.P.A. 38, 1978 CCPA LEXIS 335 (ccpa 1978).

Opinions

Rich, Judge.

The United States appeals from the judgment of the Customs Court which granted appellee’s motion for summary judgment, 77 Cust. Ct. 66, C.D. 4672, 425 F. Supp. 852 (1976). We affirm.

The imported merchandise consists, of cloth brush heads which were manufactured in Japan by Nippon Seal Co., Ltd. (Nippon) and purchased by appellee for distribution in the United States. After importation, these brush heads were used by appellee for manufacturing two types of brushes: the Mini-Miracle Brush, which has a fixed, non-rotating handle, and the Miracle Brush, which has a rotating handle. The Miracle Brush is disclosed and claimed in U.S.-Patent No. 3,421,171, owned by Nippon, and the claims therein are limited to the combination of cloth brush head and rotating handle, meaning that the handle, which carries the brush head, is rotatable with relation to the head.

The license and right to manufacture and sell the Miracle Brush on an exclusive basis in the United States were acquired by appellee in a license agreement between Nippon and appellee. During the the period of the importations at bar, the agreement provides that a royalty of 6 cents per unit is payable on approximately one-third of the imported brush heads, since approximately one-third of the heads are used in the patented brush. The agreement further provides, inter alia, that. appellee' guarantees to purchase from Nippon a large quantity of brush heads, viz., from two million two hundred thousand (2,200,000) to three million (3,000,000) units per year.

The parties agree that the correct basis of valuation is export value as defined in section 402(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956, 19 USO 1401a(b), which reads:

[40]*40(b) Export value. — For the purposes of this section, the export value of imported merchandise shall be the price, at the time of exportation to the United States of the merchandise undergoing appraisement, at which such or similar merchandise is Jreely sold or, in the absence of sales, offered for sale in the principal markets of the country of exportation, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, for exportation to the United States, plus,' when not included in such price, the cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature and all other expenses incidental to placing the merchandise in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States. [Emphasis added.]

Section 402(f), 19 USC 1401a(f), provides in pertinent part:

(f) Definitions. — For the purposes of this section—
(1) The term “freely sola or, in the absence of sales, offered for sale” means sold or, in the absence of sales, offered (A) to all purchasers at wholesale, * * *.

The cloth brush heads covered by this appeal were appraised on the basis of export value at the invoice value of 12 cents per unit, f.o.b. port, plus 6 cents per unit rojmlty, net packed. Appellee challenged the inclusion of the royalty in the appraisement and claimed 12 cents per unit, f.o.b. port, net packed, without the inclusion of the royalty.

The Customs CouRt

In granting appellee’s motion for summary judgment, the Customs Court emphasized that the appraisement is separable, as agreed by both parties. The term “separable appraisement” and application of the so-called “separability rule” were both succinctly explained in United States v. Supreme Merchandise Co., 48 Cust. Ct. 714, 716-17, A.R.D. 145 (1962):

If ex-factory prices and other charges are separately stated on the invoices and the appraiser’s finding of value is expressed in terms of the invoice unit prices plus the questioned charges, the appraisement is deemed to be separable. United States v. Dan Brechner et al., 38 Cust. Ct. 719, A.R.D. 71; United States v. Gitkin Co., supra; Valley Knitting Co. Inc., et al. v. United States, 44 Cust. Ct. 599, Reap. Dec. 9627. Under the rule expressed in United States v. Fritzsche Bros., Inc., 35 C.C.P.A. (Customs) 60, C.A.D. 371, a party to reappraisement proceeding may challenge one or more of the elements entering into an appraisement, while relying upon the presumption of correctness of the appraiser’s return as to all other elements, whenever the challenged items do not disturb the effect of the remainder of the appraisement. Such is the case in the instance of an appraisement of ex-factory-plus-charges value, and the charges may be disputed without the necessity or proof that the ex-factory prices comply with the statutory definition of export value. United States v. Dan Brechner et al., supra.

[41]*41Here, the Customs Court said that under the doctrine of separable appraisement appellee may challenge one element entering into the appraisement (6 cents per unit royalty), while relying entirely upon the presumption of correctness of the appraiser’s return with respect to the other element (12 cents per unit invoice value). The court permitted appellee to rest on a conclusive presumption that the appraiser’s valuation of 12 cents per unit invoice value was correct.

The Customs Court went on to find that, under the circumstances of this case, the 6-cent royalty was not part of dutiable value. It held the royalty on the brush heads was a sum paid for a bona fide right obtained from Nippon in addition to and separate from the purchase price of the merchandise. This payment was for the exclusive right to manufacture and sell Miracle Brushes in the United States. It was a valuable right granted by Nippon to an unrelated purchaser for a fee paid in addition to the price of the brush heads. The importation did not consist of complete Miracle Brushes, hut only cloth brush heads.

In sum, the Customs Court found that: (1) the royalty of 6 cents per unit was not part of dutiable value, and (2) appellee could rely on a conclusive presumption that the appraiser’s valuation of 12 cents per unit invoice value was correct. Hence, the Customs Court concluded that the invoice value of 12 cents per unit, f.o.b. port, net packed, was the correct export value.

THE ARGUMENTS

While appellant agrees that the appraisement is separable, it urges, nevertheless, that the Customs Court applied an incorrect burden of proof in this case. According to appellant, the doctrine of separability does not relieve appellee of the burden of establishing that the imported merchandise was freely sold or offered for sale to all purchasers at prices which did not include the disputed royalty fees. That is, as a condition precedent to applying the separability rule in export value appraisements, appellee must demonstrate that the merchandise was freely sold or offered for sale to all purchasers at prices which did not include the disputed charges. Appellant argues that the Customs Court erroneously rejected the application of this condition percedent. It contends that only when appellee has made this showing will the separability rule give rise to a presumption that the price which the appraiser found (12 cents per unit) is the price at which the merchandise is freely sold or offered to all. Hence, genuine issues of material fact exist which are subject to trial. As precedent for its position, appellant relies chiefly on United States v. Pan American Import Corp., 57 CCPA 134, C.A.D. 993, 428 F. 2d 848 (1970), and cases cited therein.

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Bluebook (online)
570 F.2d 337, 65 C.C.P.A. 38, 1978 CCPA LEXIS 335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-imperial-products-inc-ccpa-1978.