The Supreme Court in its judgment of 17 June 2004 case file V CK 280/04 held that the owner of rights listed in Article 8(2) of the TMA can claim, with reference to the normative basis of these rights, for their protection, to prohibit the activities covered by the exclusive right, arising from the decision to register a trade mark, which violate these laws, without first having to invalidate the registration of the trade mark.

Article 8
A trademark shall not be registrable if:
1) it is contrary to law or to the principles of social coexistence;
2) it infringes the personal or economic rights of third parties;

The Court ruled that legal protection resulting from registration of the trade mark is only formal and does not constitute an obstacle to a prohibition of infringement of rights of a particular entity. The court is not bound by a final decision of the Polish Patent Office on the registration of the trade mark when it comes to assessing the facts underlying the judgment that was rendered in civil proceedings.

Categories: Art. 8(1) TMA | Art. 8(2) TMA | company name or firm | personal rights or interests | Polish Act on Combating Unfair Competition | Polish Act on Trade marks | Polish Supreme Court | press title | trade mark infringement | trademark law.