Parallel importation and exhaustion: The legal implications of adopting a standard policy and exhaustion regime on Philippine Intellectual Property Laws in light of the ASEAN Blueprint 2025

• Main Authors: Apolinario, Janice Rae S., Foronda, Constante Emmanuel S., III
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2020
• Subjects: Imports > Philippines; Intellectual property > Philippines; Intellectual Property Law; Law
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_law/12
• Institution: De La Salle University

ASEAN Member States, through the AEC Economic Community Blueprint 2025, have moved toward a single market trend and free flow of goods in terms of trading and importation. Some of these nations have relaxed on parallel imports, whereby goods produced and sold legally in one country are subsequently exported to another. This was borne as a strategy to elevate the ASEAN into a region that could compete better and more aggressively against the global market. A problem arises however, with respect to the Philippines. Philippine laws are silent on policies regarding parallel imports and exhaustion. In this study, the researchers will tackle whether legislation to allow the country to be more lenient in terms of parallel imports, especially during a time of pandemic, is necessary and feasible. This paper will also weigh the consequences of both legislating and leaving the laws as is by comparatively analyzing various jurisprudence on the matter. The study found that adopting a regional exhaustion regime for the country, thereby allowing parallel importation among ASEAN nations, satisfies the objectives set forth in the ASEAN Economic Blueprint 2025, and at the same time, still protect intellectual property rights.