Differences in First Sale Doctrine Among Various Countries

2001 International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property survey International Exhaustion of Industrial Property Rights. The countries listed in this table are Members of the Hague Confrence on Private International Law. In this survey, groups from different countries were asked to answer the following:
1. Is there international exhaustion of (i) patents; (ii) trade marks; and (iii) other industrial property rights? That is, can an industrial property right owner use industrial property rights against parallel imports from another country, when the imported products have been put on the market in that country by the industrial property right owner or with his consent?

2(a). Can contractual restrictions imposed by an industrial property right owner be used to limit the effect of international exhaustion?

Nation Does international exhaustion apply to patents? Does international exhaustion apply to trademarks? Can contracts imposed by IP owners limit international exhaustion?
Argentina Yes Yes *
Australia Yes Yes Yes
Belgium No No *
Brazil No Yes No
Bulgaria No No *
Canada Yes Yes Yes
Czech Republic No * No
Denmark No No *
Egypt No * *
Finland No No *
France No No *
Germany No No *
Hungary No No *
Italy No No *
Japan No Yes Yes
Mexico No Yes *
Portugal No No *
Rep. of Korea No * *
Romania No No *
Spain No No *
Sweden No No *
Switzerland * Yes *
The Netherlands No No *
United Kingdom No No *
Venezuela Yes Yes No
Yugoslavia No No No

* indicates that data was not presented in the summary of the report. For further information, see the full report, with detailed anxwers to the survey questions can be found at www.aippi.org/reports/q156/q156-Summary-e.htm

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