15 USC 5403 – Sale of fasteners
(a) General rule
It shall be unlawful for a manufacturer or distributor, in conjunction with the sale or offer for sale of fasteners from a single lot, to knowingly misrepresent or falsify—
(1) the record of conformance for the lot of fasteners;
(2) the identification, characteristics, properties, mechanical or performance marks, chemistry, or strength of the lot of fasteners; or
(3) the manufacturer’s insignia.
(b) Representations
Terms Used In 15 USC 5403
- accredited laboratory: means a fastener testing facility used to perform end-of-line testing required by a consensus standard or standards to verify that a lot of fasteners conforms to the grade identification marking called for in the consensus standard or standards to which the lot of fasteners has been manufactured, and which&mdash. See 15 USC 5402
- consensus standard: means the provisions of a document that describes fastener characteristics published by a consensus standards organization or a Federal agency, and does not include a proprietary standard. See 15 USC 5402
- distributor: means a person who purchases fasteners for the purpose of reselling them at wholesale to unaffiliated persons within the United States (an original equipment manufacturer and its dealers shall be considered affiliated persons for purposes of this chapter). See 15 USC 5402
- fastener: means a metallic screw, nut, bolt, or stud having internal or external threads, with a nominal diameter of 6 millimeters or greater, in the case of such items described in metric terms, or ¼. See 15 USC 5402
- grade identification marking: means any grade-mark or property class symbol appearing on a fastener purporting to indicate that the lot of fasteners conforms to a specific consensus standard, but such term does not include a manufacturer's insignia or part number. See 15 USC 5402
- lot: means a quantity of fasteners of one part number fabricated by the same production process from the same coil or heat number of metal as provided by the metal manufacturer. See 15 USC 5402
- manufacturer: means a person who fabricates fasteners for sale in commerce. See 15 USC 5402
- record of conformance: means a record or records for each lot of fasteners sold or offered for sale that contains&mdash. See 15 USC 5402
- represent: means to describe one or more of a fastener's purported characteristics in a document or statement that is transmitted to a purchaser through any medium. See 15 USC 5402
- specifications: means the required characteristics identified in the contractual agreement with the manufacturer or to which a fastener is otherwise produced, except that the term does not include proprietary standards. See 15 USC 5402
A direct or indirect reference to a consensus standard to represent that a fastener conforms to particular requirements of the consensus standard shall not be construed as a representation that the fastener meets all the requirements of the consensus standard.
(c) Specifications
A direct or indirect contractual reference to a consensus standard for the purpose of identifying particular requirements of the consensus standard that serve as specifications shall not be construed to require that the fastener meet all the requirements of the consensus standard.
(d) Use of accredited laboratories
In the case of fasteners manufactured solely to a consensus standard or standards, end-of-line testing required by the consensus standard or standards, if any, for the purpose of verifying that a lot of fasteners conforms with the grade identification marking called for in the consensus standard or standards to which the lot of fasteners has been manufactured shall be conducted by an accredited laboratory.