In Short - The Situation: European Union ("EU") trademark law permits the repackaging of pharmaceuticals that are imported or traded in parallel from one Member State to another only in limited circumstances. In view of...more
In two recent landmark decisions, Novartis v. Abacus (C‑147/20) and Bayer v. kohlpharma (C-204/20), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) strengthened the position of drug manufacturers against repackaging...more
Three cases handed down on 17 November 2022 by the EU’s highest court shed important light on the ability of brand owners to oppose the repackaging of medicinal products, particularly where anti-tampering devices are replaced...more
On Tuesday, 26 January 2021, Allen&Overy (Belgium) LLP hosted a webinar on the key developments in parallel trade of pharmaceuticals in 2020. In this blog post, we discuss a few key topics and questions raised by the...more
The Administrative Court of Lazio (“TAR Lazio”) decided with judgment No. 09050 of 3 July 2018 (but published only few days ago) that, as a rule, the parallel importer does not have a right to change the trademark affixed on...more
The European Commission is looking into several parallel imports cases, including in the life sciences industry, with a view to opening formal antitrust investigations, which may eventually lead to fines being imposed....more