In which of the following situations are the intellectual property rights of A, a holder of a trade mark, exhausted?
A) A registered his trade mark in Member State A and has granted a licence to B, to manufacture protected products in Member State B. C, a parallel importer (who has no economic or legal links with A or B) decides to export the protected products manufactured in Member State B by B to Member State A and then to advertise them in accordance with the methods which are customary to his sector of trade.
B) A registered his trade mark in Member State A and has granted a licence to B, to manufacture protected products in State B, which is not a Member State of the EU. B decides to export the protected products manufactured in State B by B to Member State A.
C) A registered his trade mark in Member State A and has granted a licence to B, to manufacture protected products in State B, which is not a Member State of the EU. C, a parallel importer (who has no economic or legal links with A or B) decides to export the protected products manufactured in State B by B to Member State A.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In situation A, the intellectual property rights of A are exhausted because A granted a license to B to manufacture protected products in Member State B. Once the products are legally manufactured by B with A's permission, they can be freely sold within the EU. The fact that the parallel importer C has no economic or legal links with A or B is not relevant to the exhaustion of A's intellectual property rights.

In Which of the Following Situations Are the Intellectual Property