Often, original goods with the presence of legal trademark marks are imported into the territory of the state by an official distributor, based on the corresponding license agreement.
The same goods can also be imported using an unofficial distribution channel or not by the copyright holder. Such an economic phenomenon is called “parallel imports” (or “gray imports”).
From the position of law, consideration of this phenomenon should be based on determining the verge of exhaustion of exclusive rights to a trademark. Domestic legislation fixes the moment at which the right holder loses the right to control goods that have the corresponding marking (trademark). It is in this aspect that parallel imports distinguishes two basic principles of the exhaustion of such rights: international and national. In the first approach, such exclusive rights may be exhausted by the introduction into circulation of goods in the territory of any country, based on the doctrine of the first sale. In the second case, the exhaustion of such rights occurs when goods are put into circulation within the state. The presence of a national principle will allow the trademark owner to hold accountable those who import original goods into the country without his special permission.
Parallel imports are, in a sense, regulated by the laws of the Russian Federation. Periodically, the government makes decisions prohibiting the customs authorities from confiscating certain goods classified as original and imported without the permission of the copyright holder of the trademark. These legislative acts in relation to these importers exclude the application of administrative responsibility for the unconfirmed use of a trademark. Thus, using legal levers, legalization of parallel imports is carried out. Therefore, as an effective method of combating the illegal use of the right to a trademark, filing a lawsuit is filed with the court to recover the corresponding losses or monetary compensation.
We must not forget about the fact that parallel imports affect the final consumer. And this is natural. After all, the cost of original goods imported by parallel importers is slightly lower than that which official distributors put on the market. Sometimes this difference can reach 50 percent.
Therefore, it is more profitable for the consumer to purchase the same products, but at a lower price. In addition, experts noted that the ban on parallel imports does not contribute to the development of healthy competition in the market. It will also negatively affect the development of high-tech and innovative domestic industries, and will prevent small businesses from developing.
Therefore, it is necessary to take into account that the official data shows that parallel import “leaked” to Russia in 2013 amounted to 19% of the goods sold by independent online stores.
