Intellectual property: exhaustion of trade mark rights

The Council heard the Presidency's information on the exhaustion of trade mark rights and parallel imports. There was broad support among the delegations for continued detailed studies on the issue. The Council took note of the intention of the incoming Belgian Presidency to pursue the work on this file. There is a divergence of views among Member States between those who favour a shift from the principle of Community exhaustion of trade mark rights to international exhaustion and those who are in favour of maintaining the present system.�