Boehringer Ingelheim KG v. Swingward Ltd
European Court of Justice
2007 E.T.M.R. 71 (2007)
- Written by Wesley Bernhardt , JD
Facts
Boehringer Ingelheim KG (Boehringer) (plaintiff) was a manufacturer of pharmaceutical goods. Swingward Ltd and Dowelhurst Ltd (defendants) were parallel importers of Boehringer’s goods, meaning that they imported Boehringer’s products from a foreign country without the trademark owner’s permission. Specifically, Swingward and Dowelhurst imported and marketed these goods in the United Kingdom. In so doing, Swingward and Dowelhurst altered the packaging of these pharmaceutical goods. Boehringer filed suit against Swingward and Dowelhurst in the High Court of England and Wales, alleging trademark infringement. The High Court referred the case to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling. The European Court of Justice ruled that it was necessary for parallel importers to repackage goods only if, without the repackaging, effective access to the markets would be impaired. On remand, the Court of Appeal in the United Kingdom once again stayed the proceedings and referred questions regarding the applicability of Bristol-Myers v. Paranova to the present case.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning ()
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