Major changes to the Industrial Property Law
A long-awaited bill to amend the Industrial Property Law of 30 June 2000 was submitted to the Sejm on 12 March 2015. The proposed changes affect dozens of regulations. The bill would repeal some existing provisions but also introduce new features to the law.
How precisely should a licence for use of an industrial design be worded?
Contracts are signed expecting the worst. The provisions should be precisely formulated, particularly when a failure to be explicit can lead to application of rigid statutory provisions instead. When a dispute arises, the court’s interpretation of the parties’ intent may differ from the literal wording of the contract.
Using someone else’s database
What is the scope of legal protection of databases? Can lawful users make unlimited use of them? Can the creator of the database limit access to it? The courts had to address these issues in a dispute between an airline and an operator of an online search engine for discount air tickets.
Arabic for “Coke”? Master Cola isn’t it
When examining the similarity of trademarks, the typeface in which verbal elements of the marks are written must be considered, the EU’s General Court ruled in a recent judgment on reputed trademarks.
A holiday feast of Polish delicacies—it’s the law
The traditional Polish dinner on Christmas Eve is expected to offer an even dozen items. Considering how quickly the favourite items disappear at our law firm’s annual holiday reception, some gourmands would probably be happy to increase the “statutory” number of dishes. This year a lot of the nibbling was done by Santa’s drivers—Rudolph and company.
How does a Lego brick differ from Rubik’s Cube?
They have much in common. Both of these creative toys develop dexterity, logical thinking skills and imagination. But the European Court of Justice has held that the shape of Lego bricks is determined solely by their functional characteristics, while the EU’s General Court has found the opposite to be true of the shape of Rubik’s Cube. In practice this means that a graphic presentation of a Lego brick cannot be a trademark, but a graphic presentation of Rubik’s Cube can.
A cookie is a cookie
It seems the OHIM register of industrial designs won’t be fattening up on baked goods anymore.
Refiling of a trademark doesn’t always protect the holder against sanctions for failure to use the mark
Recent EU case law shows that the owner of a trademark refiling the same mark in order to evade the requirement to use the mark should expect to be accused of acting in bad faith and required to prove actual use of the mark, even if less than 5 years has passed since registration of the mark.
Gathering evidence of infringement
Businesses suspecting that their copyrights, trademarks, patents or industrial designs are being infringed by competitors often find it difficult to obtain evidence of the infringement sufficient to make a case in court. They are also concerned that if they wait until filing of the statement of claim to seek production of evidence, the defendant will have time to get rid of the evidence of the infringement.
Expensive apologies
A trademark infringer may be ordered not only to cease and desist, but also to pay damages and court costs and to bear the heavy expense of publishing the judgment and apologies.
Pay to play?
The “War of Tanks” case reveals certain dangers in the “freemium” model for startups.
The renown of a famous trademark must be proved
There is no statutory definition of a “renowned” trademark under EU or Polish law, but the concept functions in legal practice, and reliance on a renowned trademark may be an important argument in the event of litigation.
