POLAND
THE MOSAIC OF INCOMPETENCE
Maria Jurek Patpol
Cases concerning .pl domain names are examined in Poland by one of the arbitration courts (in proceedings similar to the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy), or by common courts.
Some time ago, the arbitration court at the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications in Warsaw examined a case concerning the registration and the use of
bisazza.pl and
bisazza.com.pl domain names.
Legal background
Bisazza SpA is one of the most prestigious luxury brands in the design sector and the industry’s leading producer of glass mosaic for interior and exterior decoration. The designation bisazza that was used by the subscriber in the subject domain names is a trademark registered on behalf of Bisazza SpA. Bisazza community trademarks have enjoyed protection since 2000; on May 1, 2004, the protection was extended to the territory of Poland, following Poland’s accession to the EU. The domain subscriber was a Polish businessman whose business was to install Bisazza mosaic. The domain names bisazza. pl and
bisazza.com.pl were registered in 2007. In 2008 the subscriber also registered
bisazza-installation.com. The subscriber advertised its services through these domains. The content of the websites included information in different languages, an ‘About us’ section including the history of Bisazza SpA, a picture of the subscriber himself wearing work clothes bearing the Bisazza designation, and a link to the US online store run by the plaintiff. However, the subscriber was not a trained installer of the Bisazza mosaic, did not obtain permission to use of the trademark and had no legal, organisational or economic connections with the company.
In this seemingly clear infringement case, the court dismissed the complaint and issued a controversial decision. In its March 2010 judgment, the court highlighted the following points: First,
200 World Intellectual Property Review e-Digest 2012
www.worldipreview.com
THE COURT UNDERLINED THE HARMONISATION OF THE LAWS OF MEMBER STATES RELATING TO TRADEMARKS WITH THE CASE LAW OF THE CJEU: THE LATTER APPLIES DIRECTLY IN DISPUTES CONCERNING INFRINGEMENTS OF COMMUNITY TRADEMARKS.
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