Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

EU/EEA parallel imports and trade mark exhaustion: consent, legitimate reasons, repackaging (BMS), enforcement

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Practice notes

The legal framework

This Practice Note sets out EU trade mark rules on parallel trade. Parallel imports—also called ‘grey market’ goods—are authentic products first put on the market by, or with the approval of, the rights holder, but then brought into a specific market for sale without that holder’s permission. They are not fakes or ‘black market’ items. For guidance on counterfeit products, see Practice Note: IP enforcement and the EU customs regime. Much of the applicable doctrine derives from the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The principle concerning exhaustion of trade mark rights is codified in Article 15 of Directive (EU) 2015/2436, which regulates national trade mark registrations across Member States. Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (the EU Trade Mark Regulation) governs EU trade mark (EUTM) registrations and gives effect to the relevant rules for EUTMs. The central provision is Article 15. For further detail on EUTM legislation, see Practice Note: EU trade marks—legislation. The approach to parallel trade for other IP rights is the same or comparable, but falls outside the scope of this Practice Note...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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