Green Light to Parallel Import in Russia

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is finalizing the Decree on goods admissible for parallel import, that shall not be restricted by art. 1359(6) and 1487 of the Civil Code. By doing so, the Government have plans to legalize the parallel import in Russia. 

Currently, the Order is undergoing intradepartmental approval and the publication procedure before the Ministry of Justice.

The Order is intended to clarify which groups of foreign goods imported into the Russian Federation will not require the consent of the right holders. According to preliminary data, the list of goods will be based on customs codes and particular brands (trademarks) of right holders from the “unfriendly” jurisdictions¹.

The draft version of the Order shows that the list of goods admissible for parallel import include various brands of equipment, appliances, cars and other products.

While, the forthcoming Order shall apply only to trademarks and patents (inventions, utility models or industrial designs), it remains uncertain if copyright restrictions against parallel import should be triggered either.

Commenting the Order, Mr. Manturov, Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, noted that the list can be amended based on how the foreign companies will react: if business stays and keeps supplying products into the Russian market, brands can be excluded from the list and enjoy protection from parallel import.

Consequently, intellectual property of companies from “unfriendly” jurisdictions which continue to carry out full-fledged commercial activities in Russia will excluded from the Order, while those who decides to leaves the market will be added to the Order.

It is expected that final version of the Order will be released in a week.