ISRAEL: Supreme Court Clarifies Restrictions on Parallel Imports

Israel’s Supreme Court has clarified conditions under which parallel imports are allowed. A parallel import is a non-counterfeit product imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner. In a 5 July 2022 ruling on the case between a parallel importer of Schweppes beverages and Jafora, the company that owns the trademark in Israel, the Court ruled that parallel imports will only be permitted if the importer meets one of three conditions.

First, a parallel importer can only import goods if there is no registered trademark in Israel connected with the goods. Second, if the imported goods have a registered trademark in Israel, parallel imports are still allowed if the trademark owner in the country of origin is the same as the trademark owner in Israel. Finally, parallel importers can import goods into the country if the items were originally bought from the trademark owner in Israel. For example, if the items are sent to another country from the owner’s factory in Israel.