Trade Mark Rights Protection. Legalization of Parallel Import or National Principle of Exhaustion of Rights

In the Russian Federation, the issue of the mechanism of protection of intellectual property rights to a trademark via the national principle of exhaustion of rights is quite acute today. While ensuring that the rights holders have an effective mechanism to protect intellectual rights, the state is forced to establish restrictive rules to combat the abuse of rights by the rights holders. The problem of parallel imports at the moment concerns state authorities, which see the need for its legalization as a key to lower prices and increased competition in the market, and right holders, who understand that permission to import "gray" products will not only reduce revenue, but also lead to the spread of poor-quality and (or) counterfeit goods. It should be noted here a third party – directly parallel importers, who are getting more freedom of action with each new step of the state to the legalization of parallel import and, accordingly, support such steps. The most significant point in the issue of parallel import was the Decision of the constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated 13.02.2018 № 8-P "on the case of checking the constitutionality of the provisions of paragraph 4 of article 1252, article 1487 and paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of article 1515 of the Civil code of the Russian Federation in connection with the complaint of the limited liability company "PAG". Given the possible negative outcome for the right holders after the said Decision, it is too early to talk about the legalization of parallel imports. Moreover, the decision Of the constitutional court of the Russian Federation suggests a more serious approach to the analysis of the phenomenon of parallel import, as well as to reflection on the need to protect intellectual rights through the national principle of the exhaustion of such rights.