Parallel Imports: The Principle of Domestic Exhaustion of Trademark Rights and the Strict Non-infringement Exception

Abstract: With the development of globalization, parallel importation has been one of the efficient instruments to promote free trade worldwide. However, the trademark protection involved in parallel importation is complex as it concerns many elements. There is no consensus among countries on the legal nature of parallel imports. This essay comprehensively applies the case law rules, the comparative research rules, the literature analysis and the historical analysis method, analyzing reasons for the dilemma of parallel imports and different postures of countries and regions towards it. Some countries oppose parallel importers based on the theory of domestic exhaustion of trademark rights, while other supports the act for the theory of international exhaustion of trademark rights. Then the essay compares different legal measures taken by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and China in the face of parallel imports, and finally concludes that China should adhere to the principle of domestic exhaustion of trademark rights and the strict non-infringement exception for the balancing of private rights and public interests.