Talk:Parallel import/Archives/2013

Freedom of speech?

Why does prohibiting parallel imports adversely affect freedom of speech? Mission9801 10:35, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

and how does it have anything to do with hiv/aids?Motorbyclist 03:34, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

A lot for anyone who reads up on the government regulations and responses. A huge amount of the political and public note of parallel import comes directly from issues surrounding import of HIV related drugs72.75.6.102 18:38, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Merge with Grey Market

I suggest parallel import and grey market be merged to parallel import because parallel import is a more neutral term, grey infer association with black market. Additionally, there are no spelling discrepancy for "parallel import". --Voidvector 23:00, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

The problem with merging 'grey market' with 'parallel imports' is that the are often two different things. 'Grey market' imports of cars, for example, often involve secondhand models which may be well supported and serviced, whereas parallel imports are generally simply new products that bypass the official distributor.

"bypass the official distributor" implies that there is a requirement to have an official distributor. The New Zealand legislation on parallel importing was enacted on the basis that controlling the production of a product was sufficient rights for a copyright holder: controlling the distribution of products gave them too much monopoly power. There is an excellent write up on the NZ legislation at http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/Page____1230.aspx which explains the govts perspective on this. It would be good to use the above article as a reference to rewrite this article, as it explains parallel importing issues and potentially why this could be a political problem, much more clearly than the wikipedia article, which is (mostly) just a list of examples. I camme to this link hoping to see here a list of which countries parallel importing is legal, or perhaps legislated for (or against). -- Andrewdoull 09:40, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree with merging the two sections. The terms are often used interchangeably, particularly in Europe, and although distinctions are sometimes drawn there is little consistency. Chris stothers 00:12, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

I disagree with the merger. Grey market certainly has a different connotation, which ought be highlighted. Furthermore, parallel implies strictly new products, where grey market is more general, as andrewdoull said. Finally, parallel import mandates international trade, whereas grey market has no such connotation. So I think they should stay separate. --Adam A 17:24, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

Adam summed up the differences well, and since nothing has been said in favor of merging the articles since May, I will remove the tags suggestion the merger.Dmyers4 18:24, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Parallel imports of medication

In the EU at least, medicines from one country are often repackaged (particularly if the medicine is still under patent) for sale in another country. Perhaps there should be some mention thereof.