Ar lygiagretus importuotojas, perpakuojantis farmacijos produktus, įsigytus vienoje valstybėje narėje, tam kad jie būtų pateikti į rinką kitoje valstybėje narėje, nepažeidžia farmacijos produktų gamintojo, kaip teisėto prekės ženklo savininko, teisių? ; Does the Parallel Importer Violate the Product Manufacturer's Trade Mark Rights by Repackaging Pharmaceutical Products Acquired in One Member State for Distribution in Another Member State?

One of the fundamental principles of European Union is free movement of goods, implemented in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Articles 26 and 28-37. This principle is secured through the elimination of customs duties and quantitative restrictions, and the prohibition of measures having an equivalent effect. Nowadays, attention is paid to any kind of barriers which prohibit free movement of goods. Parallel import is based on principle of free movement of goods. Parallel import in the area of pharmaceuticals is encouraged by price differences of pharmaceutical products between member states of European Union. Parallel importers can import pharmaceutical products after implementing packaging requirements, set by importing countries. Parallel importer has to modify packaging of pharmaceutical product in order to successfully put it on the market; usually these modifications are connected with language, because member states of European Union implement requirements for pharmaceutical product packaging language, enshrined in the Directive 2001/83/EB. According to this regulation, pharmaceutical products may enter the market only if the requirements for pharmaceutical product packaging are met by parallel importer. Product packaging has to contain certain information, which has also to be translated to certain language, and this cannot be achieved without modifying the product packaging. According to laws, which are meant to regulate trade mark rights, specifically Directive 2008/95/EC and national laws which implement provisions of this directive, the proprietor shall be entitled to prevent all third parties not having his consent from using the trade mark, not including some exceptions mentioned in the laws. However, free movement of goods must be protected and pharmaceutical products have to move across European Union; in order to do so, packaging of pharmaceutical products has to be modified by parallel importer, in order to comply with the national laws. From here, question whether the ...