Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc.: Is US Supreme Court's Ruling a Pointer to Indian Patent Law on Parallel Imports?

摘要

This article attempts to look at the recent significant 7-1 ruling dated May 30, 2017 handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States in Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc. 581 US _(2017) to see if it can help shed some light on the true scope and import of the Indian patent law on the so-called "parallel imports" i.e. Section 107A(b) of the Patents Act, 1970 (as amended), and in particular to see if it embodies the so-called doctrine of "international exhaustion" and if yes, does it cover within its sweep a possibility of "conditional sale" so as not to erode the principle of "exhaustion"?