Policy: BCC response – The UK’s future regime for the exhaustion of IP rights – August 2021

“Exhaustion of IP rights” is the technical term for the rules that underpin parallel trade. Parallel trade is the cross-border movement of goods that have already been put on the market in a specific geographic territory.

The question of what the UK’s future exhaustion regime should be is an important one because it will govern the future rules on parallel imports into the UK. If a business moves, sells or relies on goods that have already been put on the market in another territory outside of the UK, this consultation is likely to be of interest to them.

Prior to 2021, parallel goods were able to move freely in both directions between the UK and EEA. Since 1 January 2021, the UK no longer participates in the EU’s regional exhaustion system, and a legal default has come into effect. As such, this consultation considers what the UK’s future exhaustion regime should be, and if there is to be a change, how any potential changes could be implemented.