Judgment_paragraph 46 · Bristol-Myers Squibb v Paranova A/S and C. H. Boehringer Sohn, Boehringer Ingelheim KG and Boehringer Ingelheim A/S v Paranova A/S and Bayer Aktiengesellschaft and Bayer Danmark A/S v Paranova A/S (C-427/93, C-429/93, C-436/93)

46Trade mark rights are not intended to allow their owners to partition national markets and thus promote the retention of price differences which may exist between Member States. Whilst, in the pharmaceutical market especially, such price differences may result from factors over which trade mark owners have no control, such as divergent rules between the Member States on the fixing of maximum prices, the profit margins of pharmaceutical wholesalers and pharmacies, or the maximum amount of medical expenses which may be reimbursed under sickness insurance schemes, distortions caused by divergent pricing rules in one Member State must be remedied by measures of the Community authorities and not by another Member State introducing measures which are incompatible with the rules on the free movement of goods (see, in particular, Winthrop, paragraphs 16 and 17).

Bristol-Myers Squibb v Paranova A/S and C. H. Boehringer Sohn, Boehringer Ingelheim KG and Boehringer Ingelheim A/S v Paranova A/S and Bayer Aktiengesellschaft and Bayer Danmark A/S v Paranova A/S (C-427/93, C-429/93, C-436/93)

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