Motorola has devised a way to stop televisions, cell phones and VCRs
working if they have been bought on the "grey" market. The technique
allows manufacturers to shut down unofficially imported electronic goods.
But European free-trade rules may outlaw the system.

Manufacturers often set different prices for their goods in different
countries, but unofficial importers can undercut these prices. Now
Motorola's European research laboratory has found a way to thwart these
grey imports by fitting equipment with a device that secretly checks where
it is.

The plan is to embed chips into TVs and cellphones that are either linked
to the network of Global Positioning System satellites or are programmed
to identify the signal transmitted by national broadcasters. If the chip
detects that it is somewhere outside a pre-programmed region, then the
equipment will stop working and be "rendered useless", says the company's
patent.

"It is often desirable to control the marketing or use of products
differently in different areas," continues Motorola's patent, but the
company would not comment on the scheme.

However, European Union laws encourage free trade between member states.
"We would certainly investigate the Motorola scheme if there were a
complaint or we thought it were anti-competitive," Britain's Office of
Fair Trading told New Scientist. Last week the OFT began investigating
record companies it suspects of blocking parallel imports of cheaper CDs
from other EU states.

Consumers and some importers also oppose Motorola's scheme. "We would
absolutely resist anything that stood in the way of giving shoppers the
best value through legitimate and legal purchasing," says Colette
Blanchfield of the British supermarket chain Asda.

Jenny Driscoll of Britain's Consumers' Association, which campaigns for
parallel imports on everything from cars to toys, says: "If traders can
purchase abroad they can reduce prices by up to half."