Commission, European

Parallel imports (parallel trade)

Institution Definition

Trade in products which takes place outside the official distribution system set up by a particular firm. Through their own distribution system, firms may cause differences in prices for different countries, exploiting national differences in the behaviour of consumers. Parallel traders buy products in countries where they are sold at lower prices and sell them in high-price countries. The flow of products thereby created is called parallel trade. © European Commission

Articles

Pranvera Këllezi Switzerland: Prohibition of parallel imports and market integration - The role of the “effects doctrine” and the development of the substantive laws

September 2017

Possible effects in Switzerland are sufficient to assert jurisdiction of Switzerland over conduct taking place outside Switzerland. The Supreme Court adopted a broad definition of the territorial scope of the Cartel Act, by not only refusing, but also prohibiting, to consider any level of (...)

Patrick Rey, Thibaud Vergé Vertical restraints in European competition policy

December 2014

This chapter focuses on the treatment of vertical restraints in European competition policy, which has put more emphasis on intra-brand competition, compared with what can be observed in other regions. The first part of the paper relates this emphasis to the objective of the European, namely, (...)

Anne Wachsmann, Gautier Duflos Economic analysis of parallel trade: Automobile and pharmaceutical sectors

May 2011

This set of papers is derived from the training session on the Parallel trade organised by Concurrences Review that has held on the 12th April 2011. In the first contribution, Gautier Duflos, of the economic office of the Competition Authority explains that parallel trade exploits price (...)

Marie Koehler de Montblanc Pharmaceutical sector in Europe : Conference DP-Concurrence, 29 April 2004 on sectoral regulation and competition

December 2004

We will first make a point of regulation (reporting the remarks of Noël Renaudin, President of the Health Products Committee) (I) then an economic point of the drug distribution system (reporting the remarks of Patrick Rey, Professor of Economics at the University of Toulouse I) (II) and finally (...)

Alain Ronzano, Christelle Adjémian, Umberto Berkani Competition journals: Jan. - April 2009

May 2009

1. General - Scope of application Competition law as an obstacle or remedy to the crisis La crise économique et financière, la régulation et la concurrence, F. Jenny (Les Échos, 19 March 2009, p. 11; Concurrences, No. 2-2009) In the short article published in Les Echos, in tune with current (...)

Alain Ronzano, Christelle Adjémian, Umberto Berkani Competition journals: Oct. 2008 - Jan. 2009

February 2009

1. General - Scope of application Modernizing the economy... (Special file devoted to the law of modernization of the economy n° 2008-776 of August 4, 2008), D. BOSCO ET ALII (Contracts, conc., consom., nov. 2008, p. 8-38) In this very complete dossier devoted to the "catch-all" law on the (...)

Assimakis Komninos, Jose Luis Buendia, Pascal Berghe, Patrick Rey, Robert Kovar, Thierry Dahan Vertical restraints, parallel imports and the objective of market integration

December 2008

One of the most significant parameters that framed EC competition policy towards vertical restraints has been the importance of market integration in Europe. The recent saga of cases on parallel imports of pharmaceuticals brought under Articles 81 and 82 EC in national and Community courts (...)

Peter Sukosd Pharmaceutical parallel trade: A controversial EC approach

September 2008

Parallel trade in the pharmaceuticals market, which mainly concerns pharmaceuticals under patent protection, exists due to the peculiarities of the sector and the dramatic variation in pricing, reimbursement, sale and prescription conditions among EC Member States. To impede parallel trade, (...)

Jérôme Gstalter The interface between intellectual property rights and competition policy

February 2008

The purpose of this book is to examine the experience of a number of countries in grappling with the problems of reconciling the two fields of competition policy and intellectual property rights. The first part of the book indicates the variation in legislative models as well as the wide (...)

Jérôme Gstalter Parallel Trade in Europe

May 2007

Shortlisted for the 2008 Young Authors Inner Temple Book Prize Are parallel importers the key to free trade, breaking down long-established national barriers for the benefit of all? Or do they instead just operate in a dubious ’grey market’ for their own profit, free-loading on the investment of (...)

A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T U V

A

Absolute territorial protection • Abuse of dominant position • Abuse of economic dependence • Access to essential facility • Access to information • Access to the file • Agency agreement • Agent • Agreement (notion) • Amicus curiae • Ancillary restraints • Annulment • Anticompetitive objet or effect • Anticompetitive practices • Applicable law • Arbitration • Article 11 letter • Automotive distribution

B

Barriers to entry • Bid rigging • Black cause • Block exemption (Regulation) • Boycott • Brand competition • Burden of proof • Business secrets • Buyer power

C

Cartel • Clearance phase I (merger) • Clearance phase II (merger) • Collecting society • Collective dominance • Collective redress (class action) • Comity • Competence • Competition policy • Competition policy • Complaint • Compliance programme • Compulsory license • Concerted practices • Concession • Concurrent jurisdiction • Consumers protection • Consumers’ associations • Contract • Control (change) • Control (notion) • Cooperation Agreement • Cooperation between competition authorities • Coordinated effects • Copyright • Corporate group • Corruption • Cost-based access • Criminal sanctions • Cross subsidisation

D

Damages • Dawn raids • De minimis notice • Direct effect • Discriminatory practices • Distribution agreement • Dominance (notion)

E

ECHR • Economic analysis • Economic efficiency • Economies of scale • Effect on trade between Member States • Effective judicial protection • Environmental protection • Essential facility • European Competition Network (ECN) • Excess prices • Exchanges of information • Exclusive distribution • Exclusive purchasing • Exclusive right (Art. 106 TFEU) • Exclusivity clause • Exhaustion • Extra-territoriality

F

Failing firm defence • Fidelity rebates • Fine • Fine mitigating • Foreign direct investment (FDI) • Franchising • FRAND • Free riding

G

Geographic market • Group purchasing organization • Gun jumping

H

Hard core restrictions • Hearing officer • Horizontal agreement

I

Independence and impartiality • Individual exemption • Intellectual property right • Inter-brand competition • Interim measures • International co-operation • International competition network (ICN) • Investigations / inquiries

J

Joint control • Joint venture • Judicial review

L

Legal privilege • Leniency • Lerner index • Letter of rejection of complaints • Licensing • Limitation period • Low prices

M

Mandatary (distribution) • Margin squeeze • Market economy investor • Market power • Market share • Media pluralism • Merger (notion) • Merger (prohibition) • Merger (withdrawal) • Merger control procedure • Merger remedies • Minority shareholdings • Misinformation • Misinformation

N

Ne bis in idem • Network effect • Non-competition clause • Notification • Nullity

O

Oligopoly

R

Referral (merger) • Refusal to deal • Regulated prices • Regulation • Relevant market • Remedies (antitrust) • Request for information • Resale price maintenance (RPM) • Resale-below-cost • Right against self-incrimination • Rights of defence • Rule of reason

S

Sector inquiry • Selective distribution • Services of general economic interest • Single branding • Sole control • Spill-over effects • Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) • State action defense • State aid (compatibility) • State aid (existing aid) • State aid (notification) • State aid (notion) • State aid (recovery) • State aid (tax ruling) • State aid (unlawful aid) • State measure • Substitutability • Sudden break of established business relationships

T

Test SIEC (merger) • Test SLC (merger) • Transfer of technology • Transfer pricing • Transparency • Trustee (mergers) • Turnover threshold (merger) • Two-sided market • Tying or tied selling

U

Undertaking (notion) • Unfair competition • Universal service • Upstream market

V

Vertical agreement • Vertical restraints (or restrictions)