HC Deb 30 July 1998 vol 317 cc551-3W
Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will initiate an investigation of selective distribution in the designer goods sector. [51216]

Dr. Howells

As announced to Parliament during the passage of the Competition Bill, the Department will consult on the approach to dealing with vertical agreements, which include selective distribution, in preparation for the commencement of the new legislation.

Any specific complaints about a supplier refusing to supply a retailer because of that retailer's pricing practices, should be directed to the Director General of Fair Trading, who will investigate.

Mr. Chope

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action she is taking to prevent foreign manufacturers from setting the prices that British consumers have to pay for designer goods. [51664]

Mr. Ian McCartney

[holding answer 21 July 1998]: The prices paid by consumers for designer goods are set by the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer. The judgment in Silhouette concerns the extent to which, under the terms of a European Community Directive approximating the laws of Member States relating to trade marks, the holder of a registered trade mark may prevent the import into the Community of goods bearing that trade mark where the goods have already been marketed with the consent of the holder of the mark in the Community. The judgment in Silhouette confirms that the holder of a mark has no powers to prevent the import into, for example, the United Kingdom, of goods bearing the trade mark where those goods come from another Member State in the Community. The European Commission has commissioned a study into whether this principle should be extended to cover goods that have been put on the market anywhere in the world and, once the results of the study are available, the Government will consider with other Community Member States what action should be taken, including the possibility of a change in the law. In the meantime, manufacturers remain subject to European and domestic laws governing competition and the supply of goods.

Mr. Chope

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations she made to the European Court and to the European Commission on behalf of British consumers prior to the ECJ ruling in the Silhouette case. [51666]

Mr. Ian McCartney

[holding answer 21 July 1998]: The previous government submitted written observations to the European Court of Justice in February 1997. These observations confirmed that, as a matter of law, the 1989 European Community Directive on trade marks gave brand owners no power to prevent the import of trade-marked goods once they had been put on the market with their consent anywhere in the Community, but did give them power to prevent the import of goods put on the market with their consent elsewhere in the world.

Mr. Chope

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action she is going to take in response to the ruling of the European Court of Justice in the Silhouette case on the pricing and distribution of designer goods; and if she will make a statement. [51663]

Mr. Ian McCartney

[holding answer 21 July 1998]: The Government will consider with other Member States of the European Community, in the light of this ruling and of a study being mounted by the European Commission, what changes in the law are desirable in the interests of British consumers and manufacturers.

Mr. Chope

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on the options available to British retailers and consumers in response to the rules of the ECJ in the Silhouette case. [51665]

Mr. Ian McCartney

[holding answer 21 July 1998]: The ruling of the European Court of Justice on the Silhouette case confirms the view of the Government's own legal advisers on the interpretation of the European Community Directive on trade marks which was implemented by the Trade Marks Act 1994, both of which were adopted and enacted by the previous government. The Government will consider with other Member States of the European Community in the light of this ruling, and of a study being mounted by the European Commission, what changes in the law are desirable having regard to the interests of British consumers and manufacturers.

In the meantime, British retailers should abide by the law as it stands at present.

Mr. Chope

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when she was informed that the European Court of Justice was to make the ruling which it has made in the Silhouette case. [51662]

Mr. Ian McCartney

[holding answer 21 July 1998]: The ruling of the European Court of Justice on the Silhouette case was delivered on 16 July 1998. The Government were aware from 24 June 1998 that the judgment would be delivered on that date.