ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a trade-related aspect of intellectual property (IP) law in the context of international trade between the European Union (EU) and Japan. It presents case law developed by both the Court of Justice of the EU, or CJEU, and the Supreme Court of Japan. It then makes a comparative study of judgments by these two courts and clarifies the difference between them. The chapter focuses on the international exhaustion doctrine because of its limited space. The international exhaustion doctrine plays a quite important role in the case of so-called 'parallel importation' of products protected by the IP rights. Parallel importation is considered as prejudicing the interests of both a patent holder and an officially authorized distributor. In contrast to the internal trade between the member states, the EU has put more importance on the protection of IP in case of trade relationships with countries outside the EU.
