M V S

The case concerned a claim against our client for alleged infringement of the claimant's international registered trademark for a pharmaceutical preparation. The preparation was sold under one name in the Member State of the European Union from which it was imported and under another in the United Kingdom. Our client repackaged the product using the UK name. The trade mark proprietor objected on a number of grounds, including accusing our client of having misled the regulator in granting the necessary parallel import licence. The case was listed for a four day trial. With extensive witness statements and expert evidence, the case was ready for trial when, only days ahead of trial, the claimant served a notice of discontinuance. In its own right, the case threw up an exceptional number of challenges in the confluence of regulatory law, intellectual property rights and the freedom of movement provisions in European treaty law.