intellectual property | In Principle

Apart from the recognition of letters of consent, a major change in trademark law already in force is the possibility of registering a mark containing the name Polska or Poland (or the abbreviations RP or PL), or the name of a Polish locality, without the need to obtain the consent of the relevant authorities.

The second amendment to the Industrial Property Law, which enters into force on 15 April 2016, introduces major changes in the procedure for obtaining protective rights to a trademark—replacing the current examination system with a register system.

The amendment of the Industrial Property Law entering into force on 15 April 2016 also introduces major changes in regulations governing the loss of the protective rights to trademarks.

Can a controlled attack on a computer system to identify its security weaknesses violate copyright or trade secrets?

The amendment of 24 July 2015 to the Industrial Property Law doesn’t enter into force until 1 December 2015, but another amendment has already been published—dated 15 September 2015 and entering into force on 15 April 2016. Letters of consent are the most important change introduced by the first amendment, while the second amendment will revolutionise the system for obtaining protective rights to trademarks. The changes will affect the registration procedure and the grounds for lapse of protective rights.

In computer games and apps, the use of images of nature, like mountain streams, does not raise doubts in terms of copyright. But the use of architectural structures, such as bridges, monuments or buildings, can be problematic, because they are generally regarded as “works” for copyright purposes.

Conceptual similarity between trademarks may be sufficient to find a risk of confusion even when there is little visual similarity between the marks, if the earlier mark has become highly distinctive through its use.

In evaluating the likelihood of confusion when conflicting names in a foreign language look similar, the meaning and pronunciation of the words in that language should be considered.

Lego figures are a toy for all. They develop not only the imagination, but also the line of European case law. Like Rubik’s Cube, they are reversing the tide of refusal to grant trademark protection to the shapes of products.

Software licensing agreements often provide that the licence is granted for an unlimited time. But what does this mean in practice and what legal consequences does it exert?

The General Court refused registration of a trademark of two parallel stripes on sports shoes. The difference in the number of stripes did prevent conflict with the adidas trademark of three stripes.

Although in theory it is possible to register a trademark in the form of a single colour, in Polish practice such marks are vanishingly rare. Essentially, such protection is possible only if the applicant proves “secondary distinguishing power”—showing that the target customers for the goods clearly associate the colour with a specific company.