The purpose of the article is to discuss the problem of the trademark protection in Polish law. This protection takes place in civil law proceedings. It may be impeded if the defendant begins to challenge the validity of the trademark. The court can- not decide on the validity of the trademark; the decision on the invalidation of the trademark may be taken only by the Patent Office. For this reason, the court should suspend the civil law proceedings which can last for long time. Therefore, in Polish law, following the example of EU law, consideration should be given to the possibility of determining the validity of a trademark also by a court, if such a need occurs during the civil law proceedings
Using a surname as a trademark or part of a trademark has been the subject of numerous case-laws and has been widely discussed in the literature. However, it seems that after the Messi case (cases C-449/18 P and C-474/18 P), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) seems to have departed from their previous approach where it was held that surnames in trademarks should be treated as normal signs. In the Messi case, the CJEU, however, ruled that the reputation of Messi – an internationally famous football player – is so well known that an average consumer, seeing the ‘MESSI’ mark placed on clothing, gymnastic or sporting articles and protective equipment, will establish a link between the mark and the sports personality, despite the similarity between the ‘MESSI’ mark to the ‘MASSI’ brand name, a previously registered trademark. However, this ruling gives rise to the following questions, which this article seeks to address: - How can one prove that someone’s surname is globally recognised? - Why did the CJEU decide that Messi is better known than, for instance, Picasso who was the subject of the previous case? Who else can be as famous as Messi if Picasso was held not to be? - Has Messi changed the CJEU’s approach and opened the floodgates to expand trademark protection for an unlimited number of trademarks?
The paper discusses how trademarks are legally regulated, and how their value is established, considering trademarks in the context of products and services, brands, and innovation processes. The author analyses how the aforesaid factors condition consumer’s way of perceiving trademarks, pointing out that what a man needs is not what a consumer buys. The author concludes that the above-mentioned factors have a decisive impact on establishing the value of a trademark. They may not have a direct influence on physical assets of a titleholder, but they impact plans made by the management in order to advertise a product or a service.
Franchising is perceived as a marketing concept used to expand business. The paper discusses the development of franchising agreements in the context of the expansion of a trademark from a local or national level to international markets. It aims at determining how the economic integration has contributed to the development of franchising agreements. The author focuses on the fashion industry and analyses two different international brands: H&M and Zara, taking into account their market targets and international expansion.
The Gloss is partly a critical analysis of the decision of the Supreme Court of December 11, 2013 (IV CSK 191/13), in which the Court decided that using a trademark in the Internet domain by the third person is an act of infringement of this trademark protection right if it causes the risk of misleading concerning the origin of the goods (services) or it leads to an infringement of the advertising function of the trademark (Article 296.1.2 of the Industrial Property Law Act of 30 June 2003). The author indicates that acknowledgement of infringement of the protection right depends on identifying commercially exploited web pages by the Internet domain where the trademark was used. Moreover, the author shows that the assessment of the similarity of combination marks being the prerequisite for the acknowledgement of the infringement, due to the character of using the mark in the Internet domain, must disregard graphic components of combination marks.
Recently we are facing increasing application of neuroscience in law, however limited to criminal law and crime detection. The idea to implement neuroscience to trademark protection law is quite new and unexplored. There are however experiments that can make us see the problem in a different light. One of them certainly is Morrin/Jacoby experiment which points out how familiar trademarks can confuse consumers brain. Results of this experiment show that judge’s decision can be enriched with the idea of dilution. In connection with the above it seems understandable that pure idea of infringement ceases to be enough. Consequently, a trademark can be both infringed and diluted. Dilution is defined as an unconscious process which occurs when two or more marks use remarkably like logos, or have very similar names. Shall dilution be applied in law? It seems quite an interesting idea, yet it would lead to extreme inflation of law. Moreover, its theoretical bases are quite frail. Taking all the above mentioned doubts it seems reasonable to be reserved about such concepts.
The article seeks to demonstrate differences between Polish and EU regulations concerning the infringement of reputed trademarks, in particular in light of a comparison of the concept of likelihood of confusion and that of association made between reputed trademarks. The basis for this article was the judgement of the Supreme Court of 2 February 2017, I CSK 778/15.
In the contemporary information society, domain names constitute not only sets of symbols, but also means of Internet sources individualization. In this sense, they are similar to trademarks that are used for goods and services individualization. At the same time, according to Ukrainian legislation, there are some problems concerned with the relationship between a domain name and a trademark. The article presents a comparison of these two objects. It is argued that a domain name and a trademark are separate objects, which, besides similar, have some different qualities. It is also argued that a domain name is as valuable to its holder as a trademark is valuable to its one. That is why a conclusion is made that these two objects should have legal protection in equal measure without any priority.
The subject of the opinion is the answer to the question whether the consent of the Presidium of the Sejm, the Chancellery of the Sejm or a committee of the Sejm is required to use the logo of the Sejm. It flows from the Rules and Regulations of Chancellery of the Sejm and a contract concerning the transfer of copyright, the right to use the logo depends on the nature of an event. In case the event is organised by an external body, a consent of the Chancellery of the Sejm is necessary. Such consent is not required when the logo is to be used in an undertaking organised by a committee of the Sejm. The consent is granted by the Chief of the Chancellery of the Sejm or a person authorised by him.
Visible changes in the principles of marking Cracow goldsmithery occurred already by the end of the 1 st half of the 19 th century. These resulted for various reasons, e.g. also commercial treatises concluded by Cracow (with the Kingdom of Poland in 1823), hallmark laws (of 1843 and 1866), as well as political changes, e.g. Cracow’s incorporation into the Habsburg monarchy in 1846 and its autonomy since 1866. The Austrian hallmark law of 1866 introducing the difference between the name mark and the trademark which was supposed to contain the goldsmith’s family name and the name of town where he had his workshop.
The economic development is a consequence of the innovation procedure. This paper is about the innovation procedure in Brazil and in Poland. Both nations were redemocratized in the end of the 20th century. The similarities of both countries do not reflect the development of IP since Brazil has got difficulties as a consequence of its economic crisis. This crisis did not allow the establishment of R&D centres. The paper also analyses the Polish integration in the European Union and how it has enabled the establishment of R&D centres through the franchising.
The article entitled: „Price as a value affecting the phenomenology of Polish crime against industrial property” depicts the potential impact of products’s prices on the phenomenon of crime. The article begins with the analysis of consumers’s and producers’s behavior on the illegal market (a.k.a. grey area). Specifying, author describes the law of supply and demand in the terms of organized crime. In the text the reader gets to know definition of a trademark in the Polish legal system. In what follows the modus operandi of criminal groups counterfeiting trademarks is presented. Futhermore writer not only researches falsifications of goods in Poland, but also formulates statistical date (police, judicial and penitentiary). The paper ends with the comparison of illegal activity to enterprise.
Wykonywanie działalności gospodarczej wielokrotnie wiąże się z oferowaniem określonych towarów lub usług, a ich utożsamianie z konkretnym przedsiębiorcą ma duże znaczenie zarówno dla odbiorców, jak i oferującego je przedsiębiorcy. Pomocne w tym zakresie są dwa pojęcia – firma i znak towarowy. Na postawie Kodeksu cywilnego przedsiębiorca działa pod firmą. W związku z tym w obrocie prawnym firma określa przedsiębiorcę. Natomiast zgodnie z Prawem własności przemysłowej znakiem towarowym może być każde oznaczenie, które można przedstawić w sposób graficzny, jeżeli oznaczenie takie nadaje się do odróżnienia towarów jednego przedsiębiorstwa od towarów innego przedsiębiorstwa. Tym samym znak towarowy ma ułatwić odróżnianie towarów lub usług pochodzących z określonego przedsiębiorstwa. Znak towarowy służy zatem innym celom niż firma, której funkcją jest indywidualizacja przedsiębiorcy jako podmiotu prawa. W praktyce jednak pojawia się problem kolizji prawa do firmy i prawa ze znaku towarowego.
EN
Performing business activity frequently involves offering certain goods or services. Their identification with a particular entrepreneur is important both for consumers and entrepreneurs offering them. There are two concepts helpful in this regard - business name and trademark. On the grounds of the Civil Code, the entrepreneur operates under the business name. Therefore, in the legal system the business name determines the entrepreneur. However, according to the Act on industrial property, a trade mark can be anysigned which is possible to be presented in a graphical way, if such a sign is capable of distinguishing the goods of one entrepreneur from those of other entrepreneurs. Thus, the trademark is intended to facilitate distinguishing the goods originating from a particular entrepreneur. The trademark therefore serves a different purpose than the business name whose function is the individualization of the entrepreneur as a legal entity. In practice, however, there is the problem of conflict of right to the business name and the trademark rights.
Oznaczenie graficzne spółki kapitałowej może zostać objęte ochroną prawną poprzez zastrzeżenie znaku towarowego. Takie prawo do znaku bywa niekiedy przedmiotem aportu do innej sp. z o.o. Publikacja swoim zakresem obejmuje rozważania dotyczące skutków na gruncie podatku dochodowego dokonania przedmiotowego zbycia znaku (także udzielenia licencji tego prawa). W publikacji zastosowano językowo-logiczną oraz analityczną metodę badawczą. W szczególności analizie poddano sposób amortyzacji zastrzeżonego znaku towarowego oraz prawa ze zgłoszenia do zastrzeżenia znaku towarowego. Zbadano możliwość zaliczenia wydatków związanych z nabyciem znaku towarowego do kosztów uzyskania przychodów. Jeśli spółka kapitałowa otrzyma wkład niepieniężny w postaci znaku towarowego, to może rozpocząć jego amortyzacje niezależnie od tego czy znak ten jest zastrzeżony w Urzędzie Patentowym. Samo prawo ze zgłoszenia do zastrzeżenia znaku towarowego chociaż może być przedmiotem sukcesji na gruncie prawa cywilnego to jednak nie stanowi wartości niematerialnej i prawnej w rozumieniu ustawy o CIT. Przyjęto przesłanki negatywne, wykluczające możliwość dokonywania amortyzacji, tj.: wykorzystywanie znaku dla potrzeb innych niż związane z działalnością gospodarczą, wykorzystywanie znaku w okresie krótszym niż rok. Wydatek licencjobiorcy z tytułu umowy licencji na znak towarowy stanowi dla niego koszt uzyskania przychodów o ile znak towarowy używany jest zgodnie z jego przeznaczeniem oraz postanowieniami umowy licencyjnej. Jako postulat de lege ferenda przyjęto potrzebę wprowadzenia przepisów podatkowych uniemożliwiających dokonywanie amortyzacji w przypadku przeniesienia na spółkę kapitałową prawa ze zgłoszenia do zastrzeżenia znaku towarowego
EN
Graphical indication of a capital company may be subject to legal protection through trademark disclaimer. The right to the trademark is sometimes the subject of contribution in kind to another limited liability company. Publication scope covers the considerations on the basis of the income tax effects of the disposal of the trademark (also license this right). In the publication linguistic-logical and analytical research methods were applied. In particular, the trademark claimed depreciation were analyzed, and the right to notification concerns trade mark. It was examined the possibility of the inclusion of the expenditure related to the acquisition of a trademark to the cost of obtaining revenue. If the company receives a non-monetary contribution to capital in the form of a trademark, it may start its depreciation, if this character is reserved in the Patent Office. The right to notification concerns trademark although it may be the subject of succession under civil law, however, can't be regarded as intangible value and legal within the meaning of the Corporate Income Tax Act. Conditions were negative, ruling out the possibility of making depreciation, i.e.: the use of the mark for non-business-related, use of the mark within a period of less than a year. Expense of the licensee in respect of the trademark license agreement represents for him the cost of revenue as long as the mark is used in accordance with its intended purpose and the provisions of the license agreement. As de lege ferenda postulate was accepted the need to introduce tax legislation preventing the making of depreciation in the case of a transfer of a capital with rights to the objections of the trademark.
The protection of the Olympic symbol is regulated on the international level in Nairobi Treaty on the protection of Olympic symbol from 1981. This act provides for an absolute ground for refusal of the trademark containing the Olympic symbol – five interlaced rings in specific colors. The Treaty establishes an exclusive right to use the Olympic symbol for International Olympic Committee (IOC). In author’s opinion, the method of the protection of the Olympic symbol seems to be similar to the protection of a famous trademark. However, many countries among which the countries succeeding worldwide in the sport competitions are not the parties to Nairobi Treaty. From this point of view, it is possible to indicate four separate models of the protection of the Olympic symbol in the national legal orders: “Both Nairobi Treaty and special law act”, “Special law act and no Nairobi Treaty”, “Nairobi Treaty and no special law act”, “Neither Nairobi Treaty nor special law act”. The example of the first of aforementioned models is Poland, which is the party of Nairobi Treaty, but its provisions are complemented by the law on sport of 2005, which e.g. provide for the criminal remedies (but no civil remedies) for using the Olympic symbol without the permission of national Polish Olympic Committee. After the detailed analysis author states in the conclusion, that the Polish model raises some doubts and is not entirely satisfactory. Germany, France and US belong to the countries, which have not accessed to Nairobi Treaty, but have issued the special law acts on protection of the Olympic symbol, providing for the complex regulations, including the civil and penal remedies. There are probably some countries, which are parties of Nairobi Treaty, although they do not complement its regulations by the special law acts. In this case the protection is weak, because Nairobi Treaty as such do not provide for the civil and penal remedies for the illegal use of the Olympic symbol. As far as the last model is concerned (e. g. Germany before 2004), the protection can base on the general law provisions regarding trademarks (or combating unfair completion). For example, it is possible to protect the Olympic symbol as a famous trademark. Moreover, author describes the practical aspects of protection of the Olympic symbol, indicating the trademarks granted for IOC by OHIM, and giving examples of the lawsuits (or the nullity actions) brought by IOC on the base of the granted rights.
Running a business requires the involvement of assets that must be financed in a certain way. There is no doubt that the enterprises need money to run their businesses. At different stages of the enterprise’s operation, the method of financing its activities may take various forms. One of them is connected with depreciation or amortization of selected assets. From this point of view, it seems interesting to finance the company’s operations with the use of trademark amortization. The aim of the study is to present the use of trademark depreciation in financing enterprise activity on a selected example. The study presents a general description of the sources of financing the enterprises, with particular emphasis on depreciation as a source of financing equity.
PL
Prowadzenie działalności gospodarczej wymaga zaangażowania składników majątkowych, które muszą być w określony sposób sfinansowane. Nie ulega wątpliwości, że do prowadzenia działalności gospodarczej potrzebne są środki pieniężne. Na rożnych etapach funkcjonowania przedsiębiorstwa sposób finansowania jego działalności może przybierać rożne formy. Jedną z nich może być finansowanie z wykorzystaniem amortyzacji wybranych składników majątkowych. W tym ujęciu interesującym wydaje się finansowanie działalności przedsiębiorstwa z wykorzystaniem amortyzacji znaku towarowego. Celem opracowania jest przedstawienie wykorzystania amortyzacji znaku towarowego w finansowaniu działalności na wybranym przykładzie. Dla realizacji tego celu w opracowaniu przedstawiono ogólną charakterystykę źródeł finansowania działalności przedsiębiorstwa ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem amortyzacji jako źródła finansowania kapitału własnego.
Praca dotyczy możliwości wykorzystania technik grafiki komputerowej w przekazie re-klamowym. Przedstawiono zagadnienia związane z grafiką komputerową i tworzeniem rekla-mowych projektów graficznych. Omówiono wybrane zasady projektowania graficznego. Zwróco-no uwagę na aspekty prawne związane z funkcjonowaniem elementów reklamowych i znaków towarowych.
EN
The work concerns the possibility of using computer graphics techniques in an advertising message. Issues related to computer graphics and creation of graphic advertising projects were presented. Selected principles of graphic design are discussed. Attention was paid to legal aspects related to the functioning of advertising elements and trademarks.
Przedmiotem niniejszego artykułu jest wskazanie różnić pomiędzy uregulowaniami prawa polskiego i unijnego w odniesieniu do naruszenia renomowanego znaku towarowego, w szczególności w zakresie porównania pojęcia prawdopodobieństwa wprowadzenia w błąd a skojarzenia pomiędzy renomowanymi znakami towarowymi. Podstawą do przeprowadzonych rozważań był wyrok Sądu Najwyższego z 2 lutego 2017 r., I CSK 778/15.
EN
The subject of this article is to indicate the differences between Polish and EU law regulations of the infringement of a reputable trademark, in particular – compare of the concept of likelihood of confusion and associations between reputable trademarks. The basis for this article was the Supreme Court’s judgment of 2 February 2017, I CSK 778/15.
For some time in the practice of trademark more and more often there are cases of so-called. tolerances (i.e. acquiescence) of by the proprietor of the trademark the use of similar trademark registered with the later priority. As a result ofmaintaining a state of tolerance for a long time there is a loss on the side of the proprietor of the earlier of the right to claim to invalidity of the later trademark, as well to prohibit its use. The main condition of such an effect is an awareness ofthe proprietor of the former trademark about use of the conflicting subsequent trademark. There are two basic questions relating to the above issue: 1) if such awareness is not only positive knowledge, but also the duty of knowledge, and 2)if this awareness may be the result of presumption, i.e. if it can be demonstrated by facts, for which, however, you can not deny the existence of knowledge of the proprietor of prior trademark about the presence of the later mark in a givenmarket. The answer to both these questions should be positive, what convince the guidelines for harmonization effect in view of the international legal practice in this matter which are adopted among the members of such organization as AIPPI,including Poland.
The article aims to familiarize with the issue of unregistered trademarks. The author analyzes existing regulations in the field of national law along with an indication of the sources of EU law. The possibilities of applying them to unregistered trademarks are considered, for which there are currently no legal definitions. The author hypothesizes the need to recognize the existence of a separate legal right in the form of a right to an unregistered trademark created on the basis of the possibility of protecting unregistered trademarks on the basis of other than protection rights on a registered trademark. Consideration is given to obtaining protection for an unregistered trademark in terms of the law on combating unfair competition in the form of protection as an entrepreneur’s designation or business designation, as well as mutual relations between industrial property rights and anti-unfair competition regulations. The author compares existing regulations and caselaw and then draws conclusions regarding the possibility of their application in the specific situation of an unregistered trademark. The article ends with a summary and conclusions in which the author summarized the previous considerations, in particular the necessity to distinguish a separate right to the registered mark and recognition of its functioning on the market.
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