The Voivodeship Administrative Court (VAC) in Warsaw in a judgment of 10 June 2009, case file VI SA/Wa 498/09, ruled that the document based on the industrial property rights is assigned to more serious legal consequences than a document issued on a different legal basis. It was the result of the erga omnes protection of intellectual property rights. The right in registration does not cover the appearance or characteristics of a design, which arise solely from a technical function, or those which are necessary to connect such a product. Nevertheless, in Court’s opinion that was based on the interpreation of the text of Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 on the legal protection of designs, there is no reason to exclude the individual features (also these which are conditioned by technical functions they perform, so being excluded from protection) to assess the overall impression.

This case concerned the industrial design “Listwa osłonowa” (in English: lath curly), Rp-9605.

See also my post entitled “Polish case law on industrial designs“.

Categories: appearance of the whole or a part of a product | Directive 98/71/EC | EU law | industrial designs | Polish Act on Industrial Property Law | Polish courts | Polish law | Voivodeship Administrative Court.