The price of\nidentical products with the same degree of intellectual property protection\n(e.g. a patent or trademark protection) can vary from one country to another.\nIf price differences are big enough, distributors have an incentive to exploit\nthis difference commercially: they purchase large quantities of a product in a\nlow-price country, then import it and sell it in a high-price country. By doing\nso, the parallel importer is in competition with the manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important
to make a distinction between trademark protection and patent protection:
trademark protection is primarily protection of the product name conferred on
the manufacturer that also protects consumers. A trademark provides protection
against imitations. If you pay a high price for a Rolex, a Lacoste T-shirt or a
handbag from Louis Vuitton, you want to be sure that you\u2019re buying the
original. In contrast, patent protection protects only against competition. A
patent confers on the discoverer a time-limited exclusive right to exploit the
discovery commercially, thus creating an incentive to invest in research and
development. This protection against competition is generally more
comprehensive but, unlike a trademark, lasts only for a limited period of time.
Medicinal products lose their patent protection between 10 and a maximum of 15
years after authorisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dynamic of the pharmaceuticals market makes a very important contribution to Switzerland\u2019s innovative strength. This position and this strength should not be weakened by parallel imports of products for which prices are regulated. Switzerland needs the substantial contribution made by the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The price of identical products with the same degree of intellectual property protection (e.g. a patent or trademark protection) can vary from one country to another. If price differences are big enough, distributors have an incentive to exploit this difference commercially: they purchase large quantities of a product in a low-price country, then import it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4130,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/unterthema.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3972","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n