Patent Rights and the “Specific Mechanism” to Prevent Parallel Imports

The “Specific Mechanism” as part of the accession of new Member States to the EC limits the free movement of goods between new and old Member States with respect to certain pharmaceuticals that could not find patent protection in the new Member States prior to accession. While the Specific Mechanism derogates from the principles of intra-Community free trade, it does not alter the rules of domestic patent law applicable in the respective Member States. As a consequence, the Specific Mechanism can only have an effect where domestic patent law gives the patentee the right to prevent parallel importation from other Member States or third countries. At least in the UK, this does not seem to be the case.