The EU Court of Justice recalls the function of trademark and clarifies the criteria of exhaustion of trademark principle (Schweppes / Red Paralela)

In its Judgment of 20 December 2017, the ECJ has ruled that Schweppes Spain may not oppose the import of bottles of tonic water under the trademark “Schweppes” imported from the UK. By way of background, Schweppes International or Schweppes Holding (Orangina Schweppes) is the proprietor of the trademark “Schweppes” in Spain, where the Spanish Schweppes entity (Schweppes Spain) has an exclusive right to exploit that trade mark. In the UK the trademark “Schweppes” is owned by the Coca Cola Group, which bought the rights to the name in 13 European Economic