On Wednesday 14 May the EFTA Court will conduct its oral hearing in Joined Cases E-9/07 and E-10/07 - L’Oréal Norge AS v Aarskog Per AS and Others and Smart Club Norge. The report for the hearing, by Judge-Rapporteur Henrik Bull, can be read here. The EFTA Court has been asked to give an advisory opinion on two questions that have been referred to it:

"1. Is Article 7(1) of Council Directive 89/104/EEC to be understood to the effect that a trade mark proprietor has the right to prevent imports from third countries outside the EEA when such imports take place without the consent of the trade mark proprietor?

2. Is Article 7(1) of Council Directive 89/104/EEC to be understood to the effect that international exhaustion is permitted?".

"Article 7(1) of Council Directive 89/104/EEC (the Trade Mark Directive) referred to at point 4 in Annex XVII to the EEA Agreement is, in the EEA context, to be interpreted as leaving it up to the EFTA States to decide whether they wish to introduce or maintain the principle of international exhaustion of rights conferred by a trade mark with regard to goods originating from outside the EEA".

"Irrespective of the origin of the goods in question, national rules providing for exhaustion of trade mark rights in respect of goods put on the market outside the EEA under that mark by the proprietor or with his consent are contrary to Article 7(1) of the Directive".