The Supreme Administrative Court in its judgment of 21 November 2007 case file II GSK 207/07 held that even if the reputed mark is protected against the use on any goods, if this would bring a user an unfair advantage or it would be detrimental to the distinctive character or the reputation of the trade mark, it does not mean that the both signs at issue should not be a subject to examination to determine their similarity or lack of it.

The case concerned a notice of opposition to a final decision of the Polish Patent Office on the grant of a right of protection to the trade mark “dodoni A MOŻE MY JESTEŚMY DLA CIEBIE LEPSI COLA” R-149636 that was registered for Pepsi Corp. The SAC also ruled that the findings that both trade marks are not similar also implies that there is a lack of association between these signs by potential recipients.

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