From: Corporate Counsel
Lyle Vander Schaaf, The Intellectual Property Strategist
Kubota. Marlboro. Red Bull. Caterpillar. What do they have in common? They’re brands and trademarks that have been decisively successful in using the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to combat parallel imports: that is, grey market goods. See, Agricultural Tractors Under 50 Power Take-off Horsepower, Inv. No. 337-TA-380; Cigarettes and Packaging Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-643; Certain Energy Drink Products, Inv. No. 337-TA-678; Hydraulic Excavators and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-582.
Customers in the United States often pay more for valued branded goods than buyers of the same goods in less well-developed economies. Higher prices here in the U.S. in turn support profits and shareholder value for manufacturers of branded goods, and strengthen domestic industry.
