Source: http://rychlicki.net/en/issue/trademark-law/bad-faith/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 03:55:40+00:00

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On 4 January 2011, the Polish Patent Office invalidated the right of protection for the word-figurative trade mark PIEKARNIA CUKIERNIA Jacek Gaj R-175774. The request for invalidation was filed by the Polish company who owned similar earlier trade mark registration. The PPO cited findings included in the judgment of the Court of Justice of 6 October 2005 case C-120/04 and in the judgment of the Supreme Administrative court of 26 October 2006 case file II GSK 37/06, and agreed with the Courts that by adding to the complex trade mark of the word element, indicating the company from which the goods originate, such method does not remove the risk of misleading the public, since the perception of the mark as a whole may lead to the impression that the goods or services of compared signs come from companies that are economically linked. Jacek Gaj filed a complaint against this decision.
The Voivodeship Administrative Court in its judgment of 20 February 2012 case file VI SA/Wa 1716/11 dismissed it. The Court ruled that general perception of trade marks by a potential customer – the consumer, is crucial for assessing the similarity. Verbal elements are generally dominant in the complex signs, but not when they are purely informative, descriptive, including word elements with the name of the other business.
Categories: Art. 132(2)(ii) IPL | Art. 165 IPL | Art. 169(1)(i) IPL | bad faith | legal interest | Polish Act on Industrial Property Law | Polish courts | Polish institutions | Polish law | Polish Patent Office | trade mark invalidation | trademark law | Voivodeship Administrative Court.
Sfinks Polska S.A. requested the Polish Patent Office to invalidate the rights of protection for word-figurative trade mark CLEOPATRA R-153234 owned by Restauracja CLEOPATRA Bachar Aziz from Lublin. Sfinks Polska owns earlier registered word-figurative trade mark SPHINX R-105162.
Sfinks claimed that the trade mark CLEOPATRA R-153234 is similar to its trade mark and argued that it has legal interest in this proceedings as there is a possibility of misleading customers based on the similarity of trade marks. This could be particularly applicable considering the fact that SPHINX trade mark is already known on the market and, therefore, it has a stronger distinctive ability. Sfinks also argued that Bachar Aziz filed its trade mark in bad faith with an intent to use the reputation of Sfinks’ trade marks by suggesting a common origin from a single entity.
The Polish Patent Office dismissed the request and decided that the trade marks, in this case, are different in all aspects. Sfinks Polska S.A. filed a complaint against this decision.
The Voivodeship Administrative Court in its judgment of 27 December 2011 case file VI SA/Wa 112/11 dismissed it. The Court held that the PPO correctly decided that there are visible differences in both signs. The VAC also ruled that the application for a trade in bad faith may occur in a situation in which the applicant is linked with the owner of the earlier sign with a special relationship of trust resulting, for example, from cooperation contracts or agreements. The trade mark can be filed in bad faith in order to acquire a financial extortion from the owner of an earlier sign, or to gain control of that entity, or to force the conclusion of the license agreement, etc. The trade mark can be also filed in bad faith with the intention to block the use of the prior sign or in order to acquire of the market position of the holder of the earlier mark. However, the allegation of bad faith trade mark application has not been proven by Sfinks Polska S.A.
See also “Trade mark law, case VI SA/Wa 112/11“.
Categories: Art. 132(2)(ii) IPL | Art. 151 PBAC | Art. 153 IPL | Art. 164 IPL | Art. 8(1) TMA | Art. 9(1)(i) TMA | bad faith | Polish Act on Industrial Property Law | Polish Act on Proceedings Before Administrative Courts | Polish Act on Trade marks | Polish courts | Polish law | similarity of signs | trade mark invalidation | trademark law | Voivodeship Administrative Court.
The Polish Patent Office dismissed the request for the invalidation of the word trade mark Laurina R-186513 registered in Class 31 for goods such as seeds of dwarf yellow pod common bean, fresh dwarf bean, yellow pod bean. The applicant filed a complaint against this decision.
The applicant argued that the mark does not have sufficient distinctive characteristic because it is the name of common bean varieties that was entered into the national registry in Poland. The names of plant varieties are used to distinguish plant, and not their origin from specific growers or producers. The more important argument was that new names of plant varieties can be protected for cultivators only under the provisions of the Act on the Legal Protection of Plant Varieties -LPPV – (in Polish: ustawa o ochronie prawnej odmian roślin) of 26 June 2003, published in Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw) No. 137 item. 1300 with subsequent amendments. The present variety is not subject to such protection and seeds marked with Laurina are marketed by many manufacturers, and following all the procedures provided for in the LPPV.
The Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw in its judgment of 8 April 2011 case file VI SA/Wa 86/11 annulled the contested decision and held it unenforceable. The Court ruled that the distinctiveness of word trade marks should be assessed primarily in relation to specific goods that will be bearing such a sign. Informational or descriptive nature of a sign is a feature that demonstrates a lack of concrete, not abstract distinctiveness of a trade mark. The assessment should be made also in relation to the so-called “ordinary course of business/trade”, taking into account the views of the criterion of the average consumer.
Categories: Art. 129(1)(ii) IPL | Art. 131(2)(i) IPL | bad faith | descriptive character | distinctive character | Polish Act on Industrial Property Law | trade mark invalidation | trademark law | Voivodeship Administrative Court.
The Polish company Biuro Miss Polonia Sp. z o.o. filed a request for invalidation of the right of protection for the word-figurative trade mark “MISS POLONIA WORLD” R-152218 owned by MISS POLONIA A. Aldona Von Laübe from New Britain, USA. Biuro Miss Polonia argued that the registration infringes on its personal interests (company name) and the Polish company operates on the marker since a long time as the organizer of the annual, national beauty pageant. The Polish Patent Office invalidated the right in question. Aldona Von Laübe filed a complaint against this decision but it was dismissed by the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw in its judgment of 17 July 2009 case file VI SA/Wa 337/09. The American company filed a cassation complaint.
The Supreme Administrative Court in its judgment of 8 February 2011 case file II GSK 91/10 dismissed it. The SAC ruled that there were no rational arguments that in case of existence of a trade mark similar to the company name, the infringement of personal interests and the rights to company name could take place only in cases when the entire trade mark consist of the company name. The promotion and marketing of goods bearing trade marks that are confusingly similar to the company name is also deemed as the threat to personal interests or property rights. The fact that the questioned trade mark in addition to the words “Miss” and “Polonia” (that were concurrent with the partial company name of the applicant) contained the word “World” did not deprive the applicant of the protection of the company name as a personal interests, because the designation “Miss Polonia” had sufficient distinctive characteristics that would allow for the identification of an applicant and help to distinguish it from other entities.
Categories: Art. 8(2) TMA | bad faith | company name or firm | personal rights or interests | Polish Act on Trade marks | Polish Supreme Administrative Court | similarity of signs | trade mark invalidation | trademark law.
Unilever N.V., the owner of the word trade mark SOLERO IR-0622723 and the word-figurative trade mark SOLERO IR-0628636, has requested the Polish Patent Office to invalidate the right of protection for the trade mark SOLEY R-129356 owned by the Polish company Maria Ziębińska, Stanisław Ziębiński “ICE MASTRY” sp. j. from Czaniec. Unilever claimed that the questioned sign is similar to its earlier registered well-known trade marks and that the Polish company acted in bad faith while applying for the right of protection because in 1997-2001, Unilever and ICE MASTRY were involved in two civil suits (case files V GC 252/97 and V GC 217/98) that have ended in a settlement in which the Polish company commited to discontinue use of the signs SOLER, Soller and SOLLEI. The PPO invalidated the right of protection. ICE MASTRY filed a complaint against this decision.
The Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw in its judgment of 4 October 2010 case file VI SA/Wa 785/10 held that the date of application for registration under Article 11 of the old Polish Act of 31 January 1985 on Trade Marks – TMA – (in Polish: Ustawa o znakach towarowych), published in Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw) No 5, item 15, with subsequent amendments, determines the priority of the right of protection associated with the applied sign (prior tempore potior jure). These provisions still apply in cases where the trade mark has been applied for registration when the old Act was in force. Thus, by this date all subjective and objective issues related to the right applied for protection must also be assessed, in particular,and whether the applicant has the right to the sign.
Subject to Article 12, priority for obtaining the right deriving from registration of a trademark shall be determined on the basis of its regular filing for registration with the Patent Office.
The Court also noted that the TMA, as well as the new Polish Act on Industrial Property Law, does not include a provision that would regulate differently the question of the trade mark application, in relation to its subjective and objective elements and that would take into account as authoritative another, later, point in time. Moreover,the adoption at of a later date to assess the qualifications of the applicant, not only would provide an option for revalidation of trade mark applications that were filed in contradiction with the law, or principles of social coexistence (in bad faith), but may also violate other laws. The filing date of an application for the registration of a trade mark should be taken into account when assessing whether the applicant has acted in bad faith, not the date of trade mark registration. The judgment is not final yet.
Categories: Art. 107 §3 APC | Art. 11 TMA | Art. 145 PBAC | Art. 152 PBAC | Art. 164 IPL | Art. 7 APC | Art. 77 APC | Art. 8(1) TMA | Art. 80 APC | Art. 9(1)(i) TMA | bad faith | Polish Act on Industrial Property Law | Polish Act on Proceedings Before Administrative Courts | Polish Act on Trade marks | Polish Administrative Proceedings Code | similarity of signs | trade mark invalidation | trademark law | Voivodeship Administrative Court.
On 22 October 1999 Jarosław Synowiec Agencja Kurier-Media from Iława applied for the word-figurative trade mark “KURIER Iławski TYGODNIK POWIATU IŁAWSKIEGO” Z-208891 for goods and services in class 16 and 42 such as publishing and printing a newspaper. The Polish Patent Office refused to grant the right of protection. The PPO found that the applied trade mark is also the title of the magazine with the same graphics and colors, which is published by Wydawnictwo Pomorskie in which Jarosław Synowiec previously worked as editor in chief. Due to long-term presence on the Polish market, this sign became widely known in public. Jarosław Synowiec filed a complaint against this decision.
The Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw in its judgment of 6 July 2010 case file VI SA/Wa 11/10 dissmissed the complaint. According to the Court, the PPO reasonably assumed that the registration of the questioned trade mark was inadmissible because of the conflict with the law and rules of social coexistence. The registration of signs, whose use as a trade mark could be an act of infringement of property rights of third parties, such as the right to the company, the right to press title, copyright, etc. is not allowed. The VAC held also that whenever the collision of the rules specific to the system of formal protection (the principle of registration of signs) with the principle of protection of designations used effectively and genuinely in business occurs, the priority is given to the latter.
Categories: Art. 8(1) TMA | Art. 8(2) TMA | bad faith | personal rights or interests | Polish Act on Trade marks | press title | trade mark examination | trade mark refusal | trademark law | Voivodeship Administrative Court.
Wyborowa S.A. from Poznań filed a request for invalidation of the right of protection for the word-figurative trade mark WYBORNA ŻYTNIA EXCELLENT RYE VODKA BLENDED R-172468 and word-figurative trade mark WYBORNA EXCELLENT VODKA R-172469, both applied for on 1 October 2002, for goods in Class 33 such as alcoholic beverages. The right of protection was granted to PPS Polmos S.A. Warszawa. Wyborowa S.A. argued that there is a confusing similarity to the WÓDKA WYBOROWA R-151215 trade mark and that the application of the both signs was made in bad faith.
Wyborowa S.A. relied on an agreement regarding the division of trade marks that were registered for the stated owned Polmos company before socio-economic transformations that have occurred in Poland after 1989. Both WYBORNA R-64663 and WYBORNA WÓDKA R-64855 trade marks were transferred to PPS Polmos S.A. Warszawa.
These trade marks received protection in the 90’s, and in 2003, Wyborowa S.A. requested the PPO to decide on the lapse of the right of protection. At the first stage, the PPO dismisses the case due to the lack of legitimate interests of Wyborowa S.A. The Company filed a complaint against this decision and the Voivodeship Administrative Court in its judgment of 12 July 2006 case file VI SA/Wa 704/06 annulled the contested decisions and ruled them unenforceable. The Adjudicative Board of the Polish Patent Office in its final decisions of 28 April 2008 case number Sp. 285/06 and Sp. 543/06 decided on the lapse of the protection.
The Adjudicative Board of the Polish Patent Office in its decision of 8 October 2010 case no. Sp. 133/08 invalidated both questioned trade marks. The PPO held that the application of those trade marks was made in bad faith, which was intended to circumvent the law. This was because these signs have been applied for during the proceedings of on the lapse of the above trade marks R-64663 and R-64855.
The PPO ruled that Polmos Warszawa still wants to continue to maintain a monopoly and block other entrepreneurs to the use of the Wyborna sign. This is kind of a precedent decision, because the PPO probably for first time in its case-law considered that the re-application for similar signs is contrary to the principles of merchant’s honesty, as a matter of acting in bad faith. The decision is not final yet.
Categories: Art. 131(2)(i) IPL | Art. 132(2)(ii) IPL | bad faith | legal interest | Polish Act on Industrial Property Law | Polish Patent Office | trade mark invalidation | trademark law | Voivodeship Administrative Court.
This is the continuation of the history described in the post entitled “Trade mark law, case VI SA/Wa 1388/07“.
The Polish Patent Office (PPO) and the Voivodeship Administrative Court (VAC) ruled that EAU DE TOKYO trade mark is totally dissimilar to KENZO or to L’eau par Kenzo trade marks. The mere fact of the use of the word eau did not predict similarity of questioned signs, because the word as part of the expression of eau de toilette, in relation to cosmetics does not have any distinctive character. The PPO and the VAC did not agree with arguments that MGT Parfum Création wanted to use the reputation that was understood as the good name of KENZO.
According to the PPO and the VAC, the use of packaging that is confusingly similar to the packaging used by KENZO could only give rise to claims of delict of unfair competition which is decided in the civil proceedings. The very fact of any dishonest conduct of the holder of the disputed registration cannot be interpreted that the trade mark application has been made in bad faith. Even if the court agreed that events which took place in 2006, i.e. MGT actions based on producing EAU DE TOKYO packaging that looked alike L’eau par Kenzo perfumes, and advertising of its products with “the type of Kenzo perfume” slogan, could raise doubts about compliance of such actions with the rules of fair competition, but these were not sufficient facts to consider that in 2000, MGT had the intention to act dishonestly – in bad faith.
The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) in a judgment of 26 January 2010,case file II GSK 344/09, ruled that the PPO has properly established and the VAC correctly agreed to facts, that at the time of application for the protection right for EAU DE TOKYO R-153843 trade mark, the bad faith could not be attributed to MGT Parfum Création.
Categories: Art. 8(1) TMA | Art. 9(1)(i) TMA | bad faith | case law | Polish Patent Office | Polish Supreme Administrative Court | reputed trade marks | trade mark invalidation.

References: Art. 132
 Art. 165
 Art. 169
 Art. 132
 Art. 151
 Art. 153
 Art. 164
 Art. 8
 Art. 9
 Art. 129
 Art. 131
 Art. 8
 Art. 107
 §3
 Art. 11
 Art. 145
 Art. 152
 Art. 164
 Art. 7
 Art. 77
 Art. 8
 Art. 80
 Art. 9
 Art. 8
 Art. 8
 Art. 131
 Art. 132
 Art. 8
 Art. 9