Parallel import
As a parallel import is called the most commercial imports of goods purchased abroad on a distribution channel that has not been authorized by the manufacturer. The manufacturer's sales network in Germany is deliberately bypassed because the goods can be purchased more cheaply abroad due to the manufacturer's pricing policy or tax differences.
The literature between parallel imports , re-imports and lateral gray imports distinction that the term arbitrage processes can be combined and a gray market use.
- Parallel imports occur when a lower price is charged in the country of origin than in the country of export.
- In contrast, when re- importing (from Latin re- - again ) the goods bought cheaply in the exporting country are imported back into the country of origin.
- Lateral gray imports arise between two export countries with large price differences.
Parallel and re-import therefore represent the sale of a product by an unauthorized wholesaler in a different market than the market intended by the manufacturer.
Parallel imported goods can be offered more cheaply on the domestic market and undermine the manufacturer's distribution network. The price differentiation of the companies requires that the individual sub-markets can be isolated from one another; this applies above all to spatial or geographical price differentiation. The profit from price differentiation can, however, be threatened by arbitrage processes if consumers from high-price countries get access to the market in a low-price country. This is particularly evident in the pharmaceutical industry. Companies therefore usually try to prevent parallel imports with the help of patent , copyright or trademark regulations.
From a legal point of view, parallel imports are often caught between competition law and the right to intellectual property. For example, Article 82 of the Treaty establishing the European Community is intended to prevent restrictions on trade. On the other hand, the principle of regional exhaustion prevents parallel imports into the EU area.
In countries with a high price level (e.g. Switzerland ), people particularly like to shop directly in neighboring countries, as the price advantage can sometimes be immense (e.g. for cars , tractors or medicines ). In Switzerland in particular, there are many legal restrictions on imports. According to the Kodak decision of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, parallel imports of goods protected by patents against the will of the patent holder are fundamentally inadmissible. The refusal of parallel imports, however, can violate the antitrust law. Medicines must be approved separately in Switzerland before they can be imported.
On July 1, 2009, a revised patent law came into effect in Switzerland, according to which parallel imports of patented products, with the exception of medicines, are now also permitted into Switzerland.
Individual evidence
- ^ H. Diller: Price Policy. 4th edition. Stuttgart 2008.
- ↑ Pharma parallel imports. Managed Care, accessed on August 28, 2008 (German).
- ^ Treaty establishing the European Community (Amsterdam consolidated version). Article 82 , accessed April 19, 2020 . In: Official Journal of the European Union . C 340, November 10, 1997.
- ↑ European Union (EU) - International Exhaustion of Trademark Rights. Ladas & Parry LLP, archived from the original on October 6, 2008 ; accessed on August 28, 2008 .
- ^ Report of the Federal Council: Parallel imports and patent law - regional exhaustion. (PDF file; 482 kB) In: Bundesrats . December 3, 2004, accessed October 12, 2017 .
- ↑ "Federal Council puts revised patent law into force" Article in the NZZ of May 29, 2009.