Getting a Label Right: A Practitioner's Guide to Origin Claims, Packaging Disclosures, Environmental Marketing, and State Warnings
By Casey Scott McKay ·
This guide sets out how to get a product label right, in the order that keeps the decisions cheap. It begins with the observation that a single product has three different origins — one for advertising, one for customs marking, and one for government procurement — and that the recurring failure is giving one regime's answer to another. It then works through the qualified claims available when the unqualified domestic standard cannot be met, the substantial transformation test that governs imported goods, and the specialised regimes for textiles, wool, fur, automobiles, and food. The middle sections cover panel space allocation and the mandatory packaging disclosures that compete with claims for it, environmental claims on pack, and state warnings. The closing sections address artwork review before tooling, supplier declarations and claim decay, marketplace listings, recall readiness, and market-specific artwork.
IP and Technology > Trademarks | Guide | Published 27 September 2024 - Updated 8 May 2025 | Casey Scott McKay - marksy.us
Summary. This guide sets out how to get a product label right, in the order that keeps the decisions cheap. It begins with the observation that a single product has three different origins — one for advertising, one for customs marking, and one for government procurement — and that the recurring failure is giving one regime's answer to another. It then works through the qualified claims available when the unqualified domestic standard cannot be met, the substantial transformation test that governs imported goods, and the specialised regimes for textiles, wool, fur, automobiles, and food. The middle sections cover panel space allocation and the mandatory packaging disclosures that compete with claims for it, environmental claims on pack, and state warnings. The closing sections address artwork review before tooling, supplier declarations and claim decay, marketplace listings, recall readiness, and market-specific artwork.
Keywords: labelling compliance · three origin analyses · all or virtually all · qualified origin claims · substantial transformation · customs marking · product regime matrix · panel space allocation · identity statement · net quantity · responsible party · state warnings · environmental claims on pack · artwork review before tooling · supplier declarations · change notification · procurement certification · marketplace listings · recall readiness · market-specific artwork
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