Parallel Import Guidance Clarified By CJEU

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has issued a ruling clarifying what you can, and cannot, do if you wish to import goods from one Member State of the EU to another.

In summary, it has ruled that the trademark owner cannot oppose the further commercialisation of a medical device in its original internal and external packaging even where an additional label has been added by a parallel importer in certain circumstances. These are where, by its content, function, size, presentation and placement, the added label does not give rise to a risk to the guarantee of origin of the medical device bearing the trade mark.

The CJEU's judgment in Junek Europ-Vertrieb GmbH v Lohmann & Rauscher International GmbH & Co. KG case C-642/16 (17 May 2018) seemingly smooths the way for parallel importers of trademarked products to bypass the conditions laid down in the BMS and Boehringer authorities. The case gives guidance on what constitutes repackaging, and therefore