20 August 2026
For international brands, parallel importing can look like one problem.
It isn't.
Whether someone can legally import and resell your genuine branded products without permission depends heavily on the country involved.
Brazil, Australia and New Zealand illustrate just how different the rules can be.
Brazil: stronger rights against parallel imports
Brazil generally follows a national exhaustion approach.
Once genuine goods have been placed on the Brazilian market with the trade mark owner's consent, the owner generally cannot stop their resale.
But putting goods on the market overseas does not automatically authorise their first import into Brazil.
That gives brand owners stronger scope to challenge unauthorised parallel imports than in Australia or New Zealand.
Enforcement is still evidence-heavy. Brand owners should be able to show who imported the goods, that consent was not given and that the conduct involves unauthorised first entry rather than ordinary resale.
Clear distribution agreements, good records and prompt enforcement matter.
Australia: a more permissive approach
Australia takes a different position.
Section 122A of the Trade Marks Act 1995 can protect importers of genuine goods where they have made reasonable inquiries and reasonably concluded that the trade mark was applied with the consent of the owner or another authorised party.
That can apply even where the original consent was subject to territorial restrictions.
In practice, this makes it much harder for Australian trade mark owners to use registration alone to block genuine parallel imports.
New Zealand: parallel imports generally permitted
New Zealand goes further.
Genuine parallel imports are generally permitted, and its Customs regime is focused on counterfeit or otherwise infringing goods rather than authentic products entering through unofficial distribution channels.
For brand owners, trade mark law therefore offers relatively limited control over genuine parallel imports.
Trade mark ownership also differs
There is another important distinction.
Brazil is fundamentally a registration-based system, so overseas brands should file early. Waiting until sales grow or a local distributor is appointed can create unnecessary risk.
Australia and New Zealand give greater significance to earlier use. Registration is still extremely valuable, but prior users may have rights even where someone else later files the mark.
One region does not mean one strategy
The practical position is very different in each market:
Brazil: register early and maintain tight control over authorised imports.
Australia: registration matters, but genuine parallel imports may benefit from the statutory defence.
New Zealand: genuine parallel importing is broadly permitted, leaving fewer trade mark-based options for controlling distribution.
For international brands, the lesson is straightforward: do not assume the same filing, licensing or enforcement strategy will work in every country.
Register early where needed, document authorised distribution channels, make territorial restrictions clear and check the local exhaustion rules before taking enforcement action.
IP Solved can help businesses develop international trade mark strategies that reflect the law in each individual market.
This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. Specific advice should be obtained for your business and target markets.
