Piracy and Gray Markets

The author discusses parallel imports or gray market goods in the context of the federal trademark laws, the regulations promulgated by the Customs Service and its enforcement of these regulations. In the recent United States Supreme Court case, K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., the author argued on behalf of K Mart. In this speech, the author discusses and rebuts the arguments made by his opponent, the Coalition to Preserve the Integrity of American Trademarks (COPIAT) and contends that parallel imports are advantageous to the American consumer and necessary in any effort to reduce the foreign trade deficit. He concludes that parallel imports should, therefore, not only be permitted, but should also be encouraged