On 12 September 2017, Advocate General Mengozzi (“AG”) delivered an opinion in the Schweppes case in the context of a request for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“ECJ”) from a Spanish Court. In particular, the AG proposed to develop the case-law on the exhaustion of trademark rights in the case of a voluntary fragmentation of parallel rights by signi cantly broadening the interpretation of ‘economic links’ between the parallel rights owners. According to the AG, a key consideration is the correct balance to be struck between protecting the rights of trademark owners and the free movement of goods. The Coca-Cola Company (“TCCC”) owns the Schweppes® brand in the United Kingdom and in ten other EU Member States, while Orangina Schweppes Holding BV (“OSHBV”)
The EU Court of Justice AG Mengozzi takes a new look at the exhaustion of trademark rights and seems prepared to accept the erosion of such rights (Schweppes)
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