Introduction
Preventing unauthorized parallel imports into the Western Balkans is not a uniform exercise. Whether it is possible at all, and through what legal mechanism, depends entirely on which country is involved. The six jurisdictions covered here apply materially different exhaustion regimes: two apply international exhaustion, three apply national exhaustion, and one applies a hybrid system that has no direct equivalent in EU law.
This article provides a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction breakdown of how trademark exhaustion operates across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo *, with particular attention to Albania’s recent legislative reform under Law No. 52/2025 and the distinctive hybrid approach adopted in Kosovo *.
What Is Trademark Exhaustion?
Trademark exhaustion (also known as the first sale doctrine) limits the trademark holder’s ability to control the further circulation of goods once those goods have been placed on the market by the holder or with their consent.
Consider a pair of branded sneakers sold by an authorized distributor in Germany. Once that first authorized sale occurs, the trademark holder cannot use trademark rights to prevent the buyer from reselling those specific sneakers. The right is exhausted. Exhaustion does not, however, permit the buyer to manufacture new goods under the mark or sublicense it to others.
The practical significance of exhaustion doctrine lies in parallel imports: goods legitimately purchased in one country and re-imported into another without the trademark holder’s authorization. Whether such imports are lawful depends on the exhaustion system in place.
National, Regional, and International Exhaustion: Key Differences
National exhaustion: Rights are exhausted only upon first sale within that specific country. Parallel imports from abroad are not permitted, giving brand owners strong control over distribution channels.
Regional exhaustion: Rights are exhausted upon first sale anywhere within a defined group of countries (the EU/EEA being the primary example). Parallel imports from outside the region are not permitted.
International exhaustion: Rights are exhausted upon first authorized sale anywhere in the world. Parallel imports are permitted regardless of origin, significantly limiting the brand owner’s ability to segment markets.
Trademark Exhaustion by Country
Serbia
System: International exhaustion
Serbia adopted international exhaustion under its Trademark Law of 2020, replacing the previous national exhaustion system. Once goods bearing a trademark are placed on the market anywhere in the world by the rights holder or with their consent, further circulation in Serbia cannot be prevented on trademark grounds alone.
For brand owners with exclusivity arrangements for the Serbian market, this represents a significant limitation. Contractual restrictions on distributors remain the primary tool for managing parallel import risk.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
System: International exhaustion
Bosnia and Herzegovina likewise applies international exhaustion. Goods placed on the market anywhere in the world by the rights holder or an authorized person may circulate freely in BiH. Trademark rights cannot be invoked to block parallel imports.
BiH presents additional complexity due to its two-entity structure (Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska) and the Brčko District, though trademark law operates at the state level through the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Montenegro
System: National exhaustion
Montenegro applies national exhaustion. Rights are exhausted only when the goods are first placed on the market in Montenegro by the holder or with their consent. Unauthorized parallel imports from other countries (including EU member states) may be challenged on trademark grounds.
In practice, Montenegro’s EU accession process (it has been a candidate since 2010) has driven gradual harmonization of IP legislation with the EU acquis, though the exhaustion regime remains national.
North Macedonia
System: National exhaustion (with enforcement caveats)
North Macedonia formally applies national exhaustion. However, enforcement in practice can be inconsistent - enforcement authorities have at times been reluctant to act against parallel imports, viewing the national exhaustion principle as overly restrictive from a competition policy standpoint.
Brand owners relying on national exhaustion in North Macedonia should be prepared to engage enforcement authorities proactively and, where necessary, pursue civil proceedings before the competent courts.
Albania
System: National exhaustion (newly enforceable)
Albania applies national exhaustion, but the practical scope of that protection changed substantially with the entry into force of Law No. 52/2025 on Trademarks on August 16, 2025.
Under the previous framework, state enforcement authorities (customs, market surveillance) were authorized to act only against counterfeit goods. Blocking unauthorized parallel imports required first obtaining a court order, which significantly limited the commercial value of national exhaustion for rights holders.
Law No. 52/2025 removes the term “counterfeit goods” from the relevant provisions, enabling trademark holders to initiate administrative enforcement proceedings directly against parallel imports, without a prior court decision. Albania’s national exhaustion regime is now both legally valid and administratively enforceable, bringing it closer to the practical effect of EU-style regional exhaustion.
The new law also transposes key EU instruments: Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, Directive (EU) 2015/2436, and Directive 2004/48/EC.
Kosovo *
System: Regional-national hybrid
Kosovo * applies the most distinctive exhaustion regime in the region under its Law on Trademarks of 2022. The law nominally retains national exhaustion as the default rule, but introduces a set of territorial exceptions that effectively create a regional exhaustion zone.
In practice, a trademark holder may oppose the circulation of goods bearing their mark in Kosovo *, provided those goods were not previously placed on the market in any of the following territories:
• Kosovo *
• EU and EEA member states (including Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway)
• Western Balkan countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia
• Countries with which Kosovo * has concluded trade agreements (currently the United Kingdom and Turkey)
This means that goods lawfully sold anywhere in the EU, the EEA, or the Western Balkans are not subject to trademark-based import controls when entering Kosovo *. For most brand-name goods, this effectively functions as a broad regional exhaustion.
* Not a UN member. Independence not universally recognized.