UNEDA: We will adapt to grey market "setback"
Used kit dealer body admits it was caught cold by recent landmark Oracle ruling, but says its members will adapt
UK dealers of second-hand and surplus kit will bounce back from the blow of Oracle's recent landmark victory over grey market trader M-Tech, according to industry body UNEDA.
In June, M-Tech lost its long-running legal battle with Oracle over its importation of 64 Sun disk drives from US brokers. The Supreme Court ruling effectively means any trader caught selling kit in the European Economic Area (EEA) that was first marketed elsewhere no longer has a legal defence.
And the judgement appears to have set something of a precedent, with Cisco having used the same argument to issue a cease-and-desist order to UK grey market trader KX Network Solutions, in a move that pushed the firm into liquidation.
UNEDA [United Network Equipment Dealer Association] represents 285 used network equipment dealers globally. KX was not a member but many of its peers are.
Speaking to ChannelWeb, UNEDA secretary Neb Altinis admitted he had been caught cold by the Supreme Court's ruling.
He had expected the case to be referred to the European Court of Justice, just as Oracle's wrangle with German reseller UsedSoft over the resale of software online had been.
Until now, parallel importation had been a grey area, said Altinis.
"Our position is that we advise all our members to 100 per cent adhere to the local laws.We were waiting for the Supreme Court ruling to come down one way or the other and either validate what we have been doing for the past 50 years, or not.
"It was not the position we had hoped for but the court has spoken and we have no choice but to abide by it."
Altinis said the ruling would inevitably have a trickle-down effect on UK consumer pricing, but expressed hope that it would ultimately improve the refurbished sector's image in the EU.
"It will help mature that sector, which has been around longer in the US than Europe, as equipment will be procured internally rather than externally. The great thing about our members is that, if you want to be in the secondary market, you need to adapt, and I expect that to happen."
"Up until last year the refurbished market was growing. This is a setback, but ask me again how it's going in a year's time."
M-Tech's defence that it is impossible for independent traders to tell whether Sun-Oracle goods were first marketed inside or outside the EEA was rejected by the UK Supreme Court.
Altinis urged manufacturers to share information on the origin of their kit.
"If they allowed [dealers to see] their database it would help them adhere to the law even better," he said. "Currently, if a piece of equipment purchased outside the EEA was first marketed in the EAA, or vice versa, there is no way of knowing."