Court of Justice of the European Communities, C-352/95
Article 7 of the First Council Directive (89/104/EEC) of 21 December 1988 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks is to be interpreted as precluding application of a national rule in Member State A under which the owner of a trade mark may prevent importation of a product protected by the mark where: a) the product has been manufactured in a non-member country; b) it has been imported into Member State B by the owner of the mark or by another company in the same group as the owner of the mark; c) it has been lawfully acquired in Member State B by an independent trader, who has exported it to Member State A; d) it has not been processed and the packaging has not been changed, apart from the addition to the label of certain information to comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Member State of import, and e) the trade mark rights are held in Member States A and B by the same group.
