TRADE MARK AS A SUBJECT OF PROTECTION – REMARKS ON THE USE OF A DESIGNATION ‘AS A TRADE MARK’ Cover Image

ZNAK TOWAROWY JAKO PRZEDMIOT OCHRONY – UWAGI O UŻYCIU OZNACZENIA „W CHARAKTERZE ZNAKU TOWAROWEGO”
TRADE MARK AS A SUBJECT OF PROTECTION – REMARKS ON THE USE OF A DESIGNATION ‘AS A TRADE MARK’

Author(s): Monika Żuraw
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: ochrona znaku towarowego; w charakterze znaku towarowego

Summary/Abstract: The requirement to utilise a mark as a trade mark traditionally constituted a precondition for a violation of the right to a designation, as directly expressed in the laws of many national legislations. The provisions of the Directive 2008/95/EC do not provide for such a requirement. Therefore a query exists over the nature of use of a mark by a third party that is required to declare a violation of rights accorded to the owner of a registered trademark. The issue is relevant to the same extent to the Polish law included in the Industrial Property Act. An analysis of ECJ’s jurisdiction leads to a conclusion that there is no requirement of a trade mark use in its traditional meaning. The protection of a trade mark owner is not limited to situations when a third party uses the designation directly to suggest that the offered goods come from the enterprise of a trade mark owner, viz. when the function of origin is threatened. This means that a wide scope of trade mark monopoly has been confirmed.

  • Issue Year: 2010
  • Issue No: 52
  • Page Range: 165-180
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish