La distribución y el comercio paralelo en la Unión Europea

Abstract

The purpose of this study is the legal analysis of the main problems of parallel trade in the context of European Union (hereinafter EU). Parallel trade is a phenomenon characterized by the resale of original products, no counterfeit, outside the official distribution network. The free rider or independent reseller purchases products in a market where the price is low with the aim to resell them in other markets which accept a higher price for the same product. In these markets where the price is higher there is usually an official distribution network and its owners have trademark rights for the sold products. The price difference between the market A- where the free rider gets the products- and market B–where he resells- allows him to profit from the import. The above example is just a case of parallel trade. There can be different variants of this phenomenon.