Goods, which are authorized by the owner of intellectual properly rights for sale in one country, but which are then subsequently shipped to another country without the owner's permission. Traders who engage in such activities are known as parallel traders. Parallel imports are likely to occur when a trader can purchase a particular good in one country and resell the good in another country at a price which is sufficiently higher to cover the costs of the operation; such activities take place at the expense of the rights owner and of authorized licensees. Many LDCs have laws that prevent intellectual property owners from enforcing restrictions on licensees' exports (see compulsory licensing and the exhaustion principle).

the importation of a drug from a third country, where it produced or sold with the consent of the patent-holder. Purchasing from the cheapest source can save a country substantial sums.

genuine goods which are legitimately manufactured and sold in one particular country, then resold to another country without the permission of the trademark owner.