Breach of trade mark law – what does it mean?

By acquiring the right to a trade mark in accordance with the Industrial Property Law Act, the patent holder acquires the exclusive right to use the trade mark for commercial or professional purposes, valid throughout the Republic of Poland. Therefore, any use of the following items for commercial purposes is considered to be in breach of the trade mark protection law:

1. a trade mark identical to an already registered trade mark used for identical goods
2. a trade mark which is identical or similar to a registered trade mark used for identical or similar goods if there is a risk of misleading customers, which includes in particular the risk of associating the trade mark with an already registered trade mark
3. a trade mark identical or similar to a renowned trade mark, registered for any kinds of goods, if such use may give the user an undue advantage or be harmful to the distinctive character or reputation of the previously registered trade mark.

Therefore, it should be remembered that certain additional conditions must be met to find the situations described in points 2 and 3 in order to be in breach of trade mark protection laws.