Parallel imports meaning

What is the background to the consultation? IP rights confer exclusive monopolies on their owners. Ordinarily, those protections stop others from selling, trading in, or importing products that infringe the monopoly. Exhaustion The principle of exhaustion curbs that exclusivity for items already placed on the market with the rights holder’s consent. Once goods are put on the relevant market with permission, the IP proprietor cannot object to their sale, subsequent dealing, or import. A central issue within exhaustion is identifying the relevant market; by placing goods into that market, the proprietor’s rights are exhausted. This matters especially when considering the entitlement to import products covered by IP rights. Many rights holders aim to command premium prices in high-income territories, yet they also wish to supply lower-income markets that cannot bear such premiums. The difficulty arises when those lower-priced goods reach high-income markets, undercutting authorised channels and eroding profit margins. Unauthorised imports—known as parallel imports because they occur alongside authorised imports—therefore create challenges for rights holders. This focus on market...

Parallel trade of goods This principle, in effect, underpins the parallel movement of goods. Parallel trade describes the import and export of authentic goods that have already been lawfully placed on the market, where the IP owner’s rights are exhausted. Within the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA) applies a regional exhaustion model. With limited exceptions, once goods are put on the EEA market—either by the IP owner or with the owner’s consent—those rights are spent; in practice, the owner cannot manage or oppose further dealings in those goods. The IP rights in goods first placed on the market in the UK have not been treated or recognised as exhausted in the EU since: the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020; the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020; and the UK is no longer a member of the EEA. Following an extensive and lengthy consultation, the UK government confirmed that the UK will continue to participate,...

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Introduction This document offers swift access to Precedents connected to trade mark infringement and passing off. These cover letters of claim and the principal statements of case used to commence and progress trade mark infringement and passing off actions. Precedents Letter of claim—trade mark infringement See Precedent: Letter of claim—trade mark infringement. This Precedent provides a letter of claim (also known as a letter before action or a cease and desist letter) for situations involving an alleged trade mark infringement. A letter of claim alerts the alleged infringer that court proceedings may follow. The courts regard litigation as a measure of last resort, so parties are urged to address disputes early through dialogue and the exchange of information and documents. Issuing a letter of claim facilitates communication between the parties and can lead to settlement without commencing proceedings. After correspondence, the infringement may cease and the trade mark owner may, by agreement, recover damages for loss or the parties may agree a licence arrangement. If...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. IP law is among the most deeply harmonised branches of law within the EU, with much of the framework stemming from the EU through directives or regulations. For instance, EU rules allow applicants to obtain EU trade mark (EUTM) and design registrations that deliver unitary protection across every EU Member State, as well as safeguarding unregistered designs on an equally extensive basis. Significant efforts have aimed to create uniform systems for the protection and enforcement of such rights throughout the EU, and many businesses have capitalised on the harmonised system to secure broad and cost-effective protection for their trade mark, design and other rights. Accordingly, the UK’s choice to depart the EU carries, potentially, a substantial impact for right holders. At 11 pm on 31 December 2020, the implementation period ended, established to help the UK transition away from the EU’s laws and institutions. At that moment (referred to in this document and elsewhere as IP completion day),...

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[ Alleged infringer’s name and address ] [ Date ] Dear [ insert organisation name ], [ UK trade mark registration number [ insert number ] ] We act for [ name and address of client ] (‘our client’). Our client is the proprietor of UK trade mark registration number [ number ] for [ details of trade mark—eg word or logo ], recorded in [ class OR classes ] [ class numbers ] and covering [ among other things ] [ details of specification ] (the ‘Trade Mark’). An extract from the register for the Trade Mark accompanies this letter. Importation into UK It has come to our client’s notice that you are infringing the Trade Mark through the [ importation and offer for sale ] in the UK of goods [ bearing the Trade Mark OR the packaging of which bears the Trade Mark ], which have not been placed on the market in the [ EEA OR UK ] by our...