Parallel imports

Parallel imports

"Contrary to the song, my small business is in crisis and survives largely thanks to a few products of a very specific brand that I buy in a country known only to me, which is not at all to the liking of the Swiss importer of these life-saving goods. I thought I'd read that such a practice was authorised in our country...".

A trademark is a sign that distinguishes the goods or services of one company from those of other companies. Generally speaking, the right to a trademark gives its owner the exclusive right to use it to distinguish the registered goods or services and to dispose of it as he sees fit. This being the case, when a third party imports original products bearing the trademark, it does not infringe the intellectual property rights of the owner of the trademark, even if the owner has not consented to the importation, as long as there is no falsification or copying of the trademark. While the Trademark Law allows trademark owners to market and import products bearing their trademark, it does not allow them to control the resale of products that they have marketed themselves or authorised to be sold by third parties. Thus, when goods have been disposed of by the trademark owner with or without his consent to a third party, whether in Switzerland or abroad, they may be resold and imported freely, as the right to put them on the market has been exhausted.

The Federal Court noted that the purpose of a trademark is to distinguish a company's products or services so that consumers can find a product they like in the abundance of products on offer. Consequently, the owner of a trademark has no means under the LPM to defend himself against parallel imports on the fringes of a selective distribution network, so it is not this law that is an obstacle to the pursuit of your business.