Parallel-import Primer

Parallel imports is the name given to a particular type of cross-border album shipments. An import is said to be a parallel if the record involved is already available in the country to which it is being shipped.
For instance, if HMV in London buys its Michael Jackson albums from Sony Music in the U.S.‹where CD prices are, generally, the lowest in the world‹instead of from Sony Music U.K., that is a parallel import. Under present legislation, Sony U.K. is entitled to ask for the U.S.-originated albums to be excluded from the U.K. because they infringe the copyright Sony U.K. holds to Jackson's repertoire within Britain.
The Australian decision to relax the barriers to parallel imports means retailers and wholesalers there can now buy all albums from any legitimate source in the world and need not necessarily deal with their local major-label affiliate.
Parallel imports are distinct from the European Union's trans-shipments. The EU is a single market covering 15 nations, and price differences mean retailers often buy their stock from outside their own country. While this trade used to be illegal parallel importation, the sovereign legislation governing it now is the EU's "constitution," the Treaty of Rome, which states that there should be a free flow of goods and services across the Union.
In this way, parallel imports within the 15-nation bloc have been legitimized as trans-shipments. Nonetheless, parallel imports into the EU from outside‹notably the U.S.‹remain tightly controlled.