The government of the Russian Federation has allowed the suppliers of the imported goods to sell them without the permission of the brand owner, Deutsche Welle reports citing Russian “Interfax.”
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced that the purpose of this “mechanism” is to meet the demand for goods that contain the result of the intellectual activity and which previously could not be sold without the copyright holder's permission.
"Such an approach will guarantee the supply of goods to our country, including despite unfriendly actions of foreign politicians," he said during a meeting of the government commission "on increasing the resilience of the Russian economy under sanctions."
According to Mishustin, the list of the products which could be imported to the Russian Federation without permission from the brand owner will be approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the proposals from the industries.
Parallel import, also known as “gray” import, is a term that describes the importation of goods bearing any trademark without the permission of the owner of that trademark (meaning "parallel" to the official import of such goods through dealers authorized by the holder of the rights).
Until now, parallel import has been banned in Russia by Article 1487 of the Civil Code, allowing goods to be imported directly by the rights holder or with their consent. Under Russian law, "gray" imports are considered smuggling camouflaged for the legal import of goods.
After Russia invaded, Ukraine, dozens of international companies and brands of various industries announced they were ceasing their operations in the Russian Federation.
The Russian prosecutor's office is threatening Western companies that have decided to leave the Russian market with the arrest of top managers and the confiscation of assets.