AVIS DE DROIT PROTECTION DES SIGNES NATIONAUX

ETATS-UNIS
December 1997 that it would retain the "all or virtually all" standard. The Commission also
issued an Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims to provide guidance to
marketers who want to make an unqualified Made in USA claim under the "all or virtually
all" standard and those who want to make a qualified Made in USA claim.
The Federal Trade Commission (or FTC) is an independent agency of the United States
government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. Its principal mission
is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anticompetitive
business practices.
The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into
Consumer Sentinel®, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law
enforcement agencies worldwide. 390
As an example, the FTC’s investigation of Jore Corporation focused on Jore’s use of the
claim “Made in USA” with a depiction of the American flag on packages for power tool
accessories. 391 The FTC alleged that Jore’s ads were deceptive because the use of the phrase
and flag constituted a claim that “all or virtually all” of Jore’s products were made in the
United States, when in fact the products were made with a significant amount of foreign
components or processing. The FTC also alleged that Jore’s use of the qualified claim “Made
in USA with domestic and global components” was deceptive on product in which no
domestic components were used. Jore agreed to an order that requires the filing of periodic
compliance reports and the provision of corporate information. It also includes broad
fencing-in provisions that will result in substantial civil penalties if the company is found to
have deceptively marketed its products in the future. 392
b) Qui demande une intervention?
The Lanham Act gives any person (such as a competitor) who is damaged by a false
designation of origin the right to sue the party making the false claim.
c) Jusqu'où faut-il étendre la protection des signes nationaux
See discussion under § 2(b) infra.
d) Protection des signes nationaux
See discussion under § 2(b) infra.
390 See: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01.
391 See Press Release, FTC, Jore Corporation Agrees to Settle Federal Trade Commission Charges of
Making Misleading “Made in USA Claims”, Feb. 6, 2001, available at:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/02/jore-musa.htm.
392 Gregory F. Noe, John E. Villafranco, and the American Corporate Counsel Association, Patriotic
(and Truthful) Marketing: Substantiating a “Made in USA Claim”, 20 N° 6 ACCA Docket 92.
216