134.33 Platinum stamping.
(1) Definitions. In this section unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) “Apply" and “applied" include any method or means of application or attachment to, or of use on, or in connection with, or in relation to, an article, whether such application, attachment or use is to, on, by, in or with the article itself, or anything attached to the article, or anything to which the article is attached, or anything in or on which the article is, or anything so used or placed as to lead to a reasonable belief that the mark on that thing is meant to be taken as a mark on the article itself.
(b) “Article" means any article of merchandise and includes any portion of such article, whether a distinct part thereof, or not, including every part thereof whether or not separable and also including material for manufacture.
(c) “Mark" means any mark, sign, device, imprint, stamp, brand applied to any article, or to any tag, card, paper, label, box, carton, container, holder, package cover or wrapping attached to, used in conjunction with or enclosing such article or any bill, bill of sale, invoice, statement, letter, circular, advertisement, notice, memorandum or other writing or printing.
(d) “Platinum," “ iridium," “palladium," “ruthenium," “rhodium" or “osmium," include any alloy or alloys of any one or more of said metals.
(e) “Quality mark" is any mark as herein defined indicating, describing, identifying or referring to or appearing or seeming or purporting to indicate, describe, identify or refer to the partial or total presence or existence of or the quality of or the percentage of or the purity of or the number of parts of platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium in any article.
(2) Application of quality mark.
(a) When an article is composed of mechanism, works or movements and of a case or cover containing the mechanism, works or movements, a quality mark applied to the article shall be deemed not to be, nor to be intended to be, applied to the mechanism, works, or movements.
(b) The quality mark applied to the article shall be deemed not to apply to springs, winding bars, sleeves, crown cores, mechanical joint pins, screws, rivets, dust-bands, detachable movement rims, hatpin stems, bracelet and necklace snap tongues. In addition, in the event that an article is marked under sub. (1) (e), the quality mark applied to the article shall be deemed not to apply to pin tongues, joints, catches, lapel button backs and the posts to which they are attached, scarf pin stems, hat pin sockets, shirtstud backs, vest button backs and ear screw backs, provided such parts are made of the same quality of gold as is used in the balance of this article.
(3) Trademark. If there is any quality mark printed, stamped or branded on the article itself, there must also be printed, stamped or branded on the said article itself the following mark, to wit: A trademark duly applied for or registered under the laws of the United States of the manufacturer of such article; except that if such manufacturer has sold or contracted to sell such article to a jobber, wholesaler or retail dealer regularly engaged in the business of buying and selling similar articles, this provision shall be deemed to be complied with if there is so marked on the said article the trademark duly registered under the laws of the United States of such jobber, wholesaler or retail dealer respectively; and in such event there may also be marked on the said article itself numerals intended to identify the articles, design or pattern provided, however, that such numerals do not appear or purport to be a part of the quality mark and provided that they are not calculated to mislead or deceive anyone into believing that they are part of the quality mark.
(4) Quality marks; description.
(a) All quality marks applied to any article shall be equal in size and equally visible, legible, clear and distinct and no quality mark which is false, deceptive or misleading shall be applied to any article or to any descriptive device therefor. No more than one quality mark shall be applied to any article and such quality mark shall be applied to such article in only one place thereon except as elsewhere in this section specifically permitted.
(b) Wherever in this article provision is made for marking the number of parts or percentage of metals such number or percentage shall refer to weight and not to volume, thickness or any other basis.
(5) Quality; contents. There shall not be applied to any article any quality mark nor any colorable imitation thereof, nor any contraction thereof, nor any addition thereto, nor any words or letters, nor any mark purporting to be or resembling a quality mark except as follows:
(a) An article consisting of at least nine hundred eighty-five thousandths parts of platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium, where solder is not used and at least nine hundred fifty thousandths parts of said metal or metals where solder is used, may be marked “platinum" provided that the total of the aforementioned metals other than pure platinum shall amount to no more than fifty thousandths parts of the contents of the entire article.
(b) An article consisting of at least nine hundred eighty-five thousandths parts of platinum, iridium, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium or osmium where solder is not used and at least nine hundred fifty thousandths parts of the said metal or metals where solder is used, and provided further that at least seven hundred fifty thousandths parts of said article are pure platinum, may be marked “platinum," provided immediately preceding the mark “platinum" there is marked the name or abbreviation as hereinafter provided, of either iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium, whichever of said metals predominates and provided further that such predominating other metal must be more than fifty thousandths part of the entire article.
(c) An article consisting of at least nine hundred eighty-five thousandths parts of platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium, where solder is not used and at least nine hundred fifty thousandths parts of said metals where solder is used, provided more than five hundred thousandths parts of said article consist of pure platinum, may be marked with the word “platinum," provided that said word is immediately preceded by a decimal fraction in one-thousandths showing the platinum content in proportion to the content of the entire article, and further provided that said mark “platinum" be followed by the name or abbreviation as herein allowed, of such one or more of the following metals, to wit: iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium, that may be present in the article in quantity of more than fifty-thousandths parts of the entire article. The name of such other metal or metals other than platinum, however, shall each be immediately preceded by a decimal fraction in one-thousandths showing the content of such other metal or metals in proportion to the entire article, as for example, 600 plat., 350 pall., or 500 plat., 200 pall., 150 ruth., 100 rhod.
(d) An article consisting of nine hundred fifty thousandths parts of the following metals: platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium with less than five hundred thousandths parts of the entire article consisting of pure platinum, may be marked with the name iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium, whichever predominates in the said article, but in no event with the mark “platinum," provided, however, that the quantity of such metal other than platinum so marked, must be marked in decimal thousandths, and provided further that the name of such metal other than platinum so used must be spelled out in full irrespective of any other provisions of this article to the contrary.
(e) An article composed of platinum and gold which resembles, appears or purports to be platinum, may be marked with a karat mark and the platinum mark, provided:
1. The platinum in such article shall be at least nine hundred eighty-five thousandths parts pure platinum; and
2. The fineness of the gold in such article shall be correctly described by the karat mark of said gold; and
3. The percentage of platinum in the article is no less than 5 percent in weight of the total weight of the article; and
4. The mark shall be so applied that the karat mark shall immediately precede the platinum mark, as for example, “14 K & Plat.", “18 K & Plat.", as the case may be, it being expressly provided that in case the percentage of platinum exceeds the 5 percent provided herein, the quality mark may also include a declaration of the percentage of platinum, as for example, “18 K & 1/10th Plat.", or “14 K & 1/8th Plat.", or as the case may be.
(f) An article composed of platinum and any other material or metal not resembling, appearing or purporting to be platinum, may be marked with the quality mark platinum provided all parts or portions of such article resembling or appearing or purporting to be platinum, or reasonably purporting to be described as platinum by said quality mark, shall be at least nine hundred eighty-five thousandths parts pure platinum.
(6) Abbreviations. Whenever provided for in this article, except as specifically excepted, the word “platinum" may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “plat.", the word “iridium" may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “irid.", the word “palladium" may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “pall.", the word “ruthenium" may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “ruth.", the word “rhodium" may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “rhod.", and the word “osmium" may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “osmi.".
(7) Prima facie proof.
(a) In any action relating to the enforcement of any provision of this section, a certificate duly issued by an assay office of the treasury department of the United States, certifying the weight of any article, or any part thereof, or of the kind, weight, quality, fineness or quantity of any ingredient thereof, shall be receivable in evidence as constituting prima facie proof of the matter or matters so certified.
(b) In any action relating to the enforcement of this section, proof that an article has been marked in violation of this section shall be deemed to be prima facie proof that such article was manufactured after July 1, 1937.
(8) Penalties. Any person, firm, partnership, corporation or association or any officer, director, employee or agent thereof who makes, or sells, or offers to sell, or disposes of, or has in his or her or its possession, with intent to sell or dispose of, any article as herein defined to which is applied any quality mark which does not conform to all the provisions of this section, or from which is omitted any mark required by this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court, provided, however, that it shall be a defense to any prosecution under this section for the defendant to prove that the said article was manufactured and marked with the intention of and for purposes of exportation from the United States, and that the said article was either actually exported from the United States to a foreign country within 6 months after date of manufacture thereof with the bona fide intention of being sold in the said country and of not being reimported, or that it was delivered within 6 months after date of manufacture thereof, to a person, firm or corporation whose exclusive customary business is the exportation of such articles from the United States.
(10) Effective date. This section shall take effect July 1, 1937, and shall not apply to any article manufactured prior thereto.
History: 1979 c. 89; 1981 c. 390 s. 252; 1983 a. 189; 1993 a. 482; 1997 a. 254; 2001 a. 103.