The Gray Blog

Well Summer approaches and the Gray Blogger was brought out of his slumber by a new book.  GRAY MARKETS by David R. Sugden, Oxford University Press © 2009, ISBN: 978—0-19-537129-1 (Trade Paperback).   The book jacket describes GRAY MARKETS as “the first comprehensive analysis of the gray market and a blueprint for attorneys and businesses to prevent, detect, and litigate gray market cases.”  To a great extent the book lives up to its description.

But first the caveat.   In approaching this book the reader is warned to be aware of a potential blind spot for the practitioner.   The author, while clearly accomplished and well informed in the area of law, falls prey to the persuasiveness of his own arguments and ignores potentially persuasive rebuttals.   His position is one that sees no good in the parallel market.  A practitioner’s reliance in such arguments without an adequate appreciation of the counter-arguments can undermine the attorney’s credibility with the Court.  Reading the book one often feels that he or she is reading a brief without reading the response.

The author’s clear bias against the parallel market is nowhere more clear than where he lectures manufacturers who knowingly exploit the parallel market as a vehicle for developing brand identity or for selling off excess goods.   Since the manufacturer has a right to control the manner of distribution of his or her brand, it is certainly the height of hubris to preach to them when they themselves exploit the parallel market for their own purposes.  One is left feeling that in the author’s opinion the parallel market is not gray but black.

So after this introduction you might expect a negative review of GRAY MARKETS.  On the contrary, I think that for the attorney or businessman seeking to obtain a good general understanding of strategies and tactics that can be used to discourage and combat parallel market sales, Mr. Suden’s book provides a well informed survey of legal and market strategies.  The book is broad in its coverage if somewhat US centric.  It does not cover all strategies, particularly market techniques that have been employed in Europe to identify regional parallel market sales.   That said, what it does cover is far more comprehensive and well informed than anything that I have previously seen.

I therefore recommend this book to anyone seeking to structure a comprehensive anti-parallel market strategy for his or her company or clients with the caveat that it be read with a clear vision of its obvious bias and with great caution in its mingling of counterfeiting with legitimate parallel market trade.  Likewise, for the parallel market reseller, this book provides a great preview of likely court arguments and legal strategies that need to be anticipated in this challenging trade.

To buy a copy of the book please click the following link: Gray Markets: Prevention, Detection and Litigation

One Response to “GRAY MARKETS: a review”

• Kylie Batt 11April2010

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     The book jacket describes GRAY MARKETS as “the first comprehensive analysis of the gray market and a blueprint for attorneys and businesses to […….

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