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China to Produce Generic AIDS Drugs
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Intellectual Property Law |
| International
Exhaustion and Parallel Imports |
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February 26, 1995
letter to USTR Michael Kantor regarding intellectual
property policy and enforcement.
- 14 January, 1997.
LegCo Panel on Trade and Industry,
Minutes of meeting.
Includes discussion of parallel
import policy.
- 25 April, 1997, Bills Committee on Copyright Bill,
rationale for adopting international exhaustion under the Trade
Marks Bill in a paper submitted to the Bills Committee separately.
minutes of meeting. Includes discussion of
parallel import issue.
- September 1998,
Legislative Council Panel on Trade and Industry
Parallel Importation of Copyright Articles. This is a paper prepared
by the Trade and Industry Bureau.
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10 October, 1998, Panel on Trade and Industry,
Minutes of meeting.. Discussion of curbs on parallel imports
of copyright goods.
- 3 November, 1998,
Panel on Trade and Industry,
Minutes of meeting.. Discussion of curbs on parallel imports
of copyright goods.
- 28 December 1999,
Consumer Council
Submission to the Bills Committee on the
Trade Marks Bill.
- 17 February 2000,
Legislative Council Secretariat
Bills Committee on Trade Marks Bill
minutes of meeting. This is some of the debate over the
issue of international exhaustion of trademarks.
- 3 March 2000,
Hong Kong Trade Development Council,
International Exhaustion of Trademark Rights,
rationale for adopting international exhaustion under the Trade
Marks Bill in a paper submitted to the Bills Committee separately.
Business Alert - EU, Issue 5, 2000.
- 10 April 2000,
Legislative Council Secretariat,
Summary of positions on parallel imports.
- December 1999, Trade and Industry Bureau,
Response to September 8, 1999 Submissions by the
International Trademark
Association:
Trade Marks Rules.
Exhaustion of Rights and Parallel Imports
16. We do not agree with the INTA's inclination for national exhaustion of
trade marks rights. We believe that international exhaustion of rights represents
the best balance between the rights and interests of all parties, and will be in line
with our free trade policy with minimum barriers.
We have set out the Government's inclination for national exhaustion
under the Trade
Marks Bill in a paper submitted to the Bills Committee separately.
17. INTA has put forward the example of parallel-imported pharmaceuticals
without full dosage instructions, and inferred that such imports, while possibly
allowable under the Bill, would be highly detrimental and dangerous to the
public. We do not agree with this assertion. The regulation of pharmaceutical
products is not an objective of trade mark legislation. There are specific laws to
ensure the safety, quality and efficacy of pharmaceuticals available in Hong
Kong. The change of the dosage instructions for pharmaceuticals is a matter
governed by the Pharmacy and Poison Ordinance (Cap.138). Section 36(3) of
the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations stipulates that the label, dosage form, and
specifications of a drug need to be registered by the Pharmacy and Poisons
Board (PPB) before the drug is allowed to be distributed in Hong Kong. It is a
criminal offence to sell such a product without registration with the PPB
(Regulation 40).
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PhRMA submissions on Hong Kong S.A.R. |