Parallel import as an urgent problem of legal support for state regulation of entrepreneurial activity

   The significance of this research topic emerges from the evolution within the legal framework supporting state regulation of entrepreneurial activities, alongside significant shifts in the economic sphere of state affairs. These shifts prompt a legislative response to new challenges. A focal issue is the cessation of partnerships between Western corporations and the Russian market, coupled with the rise of «parallel imports». This phenomenon entails the legal purchase of goods listed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade from abroad, even if they originate from countries that lack amicable ties with Russia.

   The purpose of the study is to consider one of the urgent problems of legal support for state regulation of entrepreneurial activity – the legislative technique of legalizing parallel imports.

   Materials and methods. The research materials were normative legal acts of the Russian Federation, monographic studies and scientific articles by domestic theorists and practitioners on the legal support of state regulation of entrepreneurial activity. The main methods of scientific research include the normative and comparative legal method.

   Results and conclusions. It should be noted that the system of legal regulation of parallel imports and exemption from liability of the business sector for its implementation has formed a number of problematic issues in practice. In particular, according to legislative innovations, the ban on the use of intellectual property objects through their parallel import is a thing of the past, however, the wording and legal structure of the changes that have entered into force are of concern, the literal interpretation of which allows us to conclude that at the moment any entrepreneur can freely adapt the methods of acquiring intellectual property objects of foreign rightholders for further resale whose product is subject to parallel import, which does not correspond to the main objectives of the law. In general, considering the controversial nature of parallel imports, it should be concluded that this procedure is not new to international legal doctrine and is applicable in the civil turnover of many countries. The purpose of legalizing parallel imports is seen in providing support to the domestic business sector through limiting a number of economic benefits for foreign producers, which is temporary.

1. Lvova E. A. State regulation and support of entrepreneurial activity. Stolypin Bulletin. 2023;(2):1-7. (In Russ.)

2. Abramov V. Yu. Legal regulation of new types of entrepreneurial activity. Moscow: Justicinform; 2023. 320 p. (In Russ.)

3. Battakhov P. P. State regulation of entrepreneurial activity in the Russian Federation at the present stage. Law and the State. 2023;(4):234–239. (In Russ.)

4. Mogilevsky G. A. Parallel import as a form of implementation of the international principle of exhaustion of exclusive rights. International Journal of Humanities and Natural Sciences. 2022;(2):229–231. (In Russ.)

5. Shakhnazarov B. A. Parallel import and exhaustion of exclusive intellectual property rights. Moscow: Prospekt; 2023. 168 p. (In Russ.)

6. Panova E. A. Parallel import: theory, practice and specificity in conditions of sanctions restrictions. Moscow University Economic Bulletin. 2023;(5):262–279. (In Russ.)