On August 30 2004, the Polish Patent Office (PPO) registered a word-figurative trade mark Ravago (R-154724) in the name of Walter Breitengraser. A Polish company Resinex Sp z o o filed a request for the cancellation of the right of protection. It argued that Breitengraser, by applying for the registration, violated not only Resinex's personal and economic rights – arising from the rights to the name Ravago – but also good morals. In addition, Resinex claimed that the application for the trade mark in question was filed in bad faith because Breitengraser was a president of the company acting as an agent for Resinex.
The Patent Office proceeded according to the principle that in the event of a conflict between the right of protection to a trade mark and personal rights or interests, including the rights to a business or a company name, the priority is to protect personal interest. The Patent Office also indicated that Article 8 of the Paris Convention does not constitute independent grounds for the protection of a trade name and therefore a request for its protection must be dealt with under the provisions of the national law.
According to the Patent Office, legal doctrine and case law provide that registration of a trade mark which is identical to the name of another company used by the same company prior to the registration of the mark in question affects the personal interests of that company. Accordingly, the right of protection to the trade mark Ravago R-154724 was cancelled.
A complaint and subsequently a cassation complaint filed by Breitengraser were rejected respectively by the District Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court in Warsaw.
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| Tomasz Rychlicki |
Patpol
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