News

GREENWASHING – what is it? “Environmentally friendly”, “Pro-environmental”, “Friend of nature”, “Climate neutral”, “Conscious”, “Responsible”…. Eco-friendliness claims can be misleading if they consist of vague and general statements about environmental benefits, without adequate justification of the benefits and without indicating the relevant aspect of the product to which the claim applies.

Preparing to file an industrial design application in Poland or the EU? Remember to be consistent in all the graphics you attach to your application! Even a minor difference (e.g., making visible a feature that is not included in the other graphics) may result in difficulties in the registration procedure, especially in the case of an EU application. ☑ [EU PROCEDURE]. In this case, in the EU procedure, the Office calls for: 👉 completely remove from the application graphics that are inconsistent with the other accompanying illustrations – which may result in the loss of significant visualization of the design or 👉 declare that the inconsistent graphic is an additional variation (variant) of the design – resulting in the payment of an additional fee. 🔹 Remember that once you have made a declaration, it is no longer possible to replace the graphic with another – you only have the two options indicated above. ☑ [NATIONAL PROCEDURE]. 👉 In the national procedure, the Office is likely to call for clarification of discrepancies between the illustrations or suggest registration of the inconsistent graphic as an additional design variation. 👉 In this case, it’s less severe than in the EU procedure, as up to 10 design variations can be filed in Poland without additional fees. 🔹 Inconsistencies between the attached graphics are not only additional work on the part of the applicant, but also prolong the registration process. 🔹 In the EU procedure, a properly filed design will be registered even in a few days. Any ambiguity, however, will lead to a protracted process.

Today in Rzeczpospolita, Dr. Michal Markiewicz writes about the image and the main problems related to it. What it is, how long it is protected, when you can disseminate someone else’s image and, above all, what dangers are associated with the permanence (revocability) of consent to disseminate an image. Publicly available excerpt from the article: https://archiwum.rp.pl/artykul/1499620-Problemy-z-wizerunkiem.html?fbclid=IwAR1cjWV2VWmnfsoV0BMk0akwuyqby1B9xj3KmCilZwJzcW5dNSxE2UhXZkY

Today’s issue of Rzeczpospolita features an interview with Dr. Michal Markiewicz by editor Nadia Senkowska on issues of generative artificial intelligence, and more specifically, the problem of liability from “training” algorithms with copyrighted works. The conversation was inspired by a lawsuit that was brought against OpenAI (the entity responsible for ChatGPT). Publicly available excerpt from the article: https://www.rp.pl/internet-i-prawo-autorskie/art38728411-trening-sztucznej-inteligencji-co-z-prawami-tworcow-dziel-na-ktorych-cwiczy?fbclid=IwAR0yTwc4C35c3LTE0ZkF-CdfXp1U3NrD0TpYrq4Hfq_brYBxdmpou6IrxVE

The RPO’s dispute with the President of the OCCP over access to the Orlen – Polska Press merger file; The dangers of the right of OCCP inspectors to cursorily review confidential legal opinions; The illusory nature of the freedom from self-incrimination in the Antitrust Act and other interesting and controversial issues concerning secrets in OCCP proceedings – discussed by Jaroslaw Sroczynski at the MMC Poland workshop on June 21, 2023. Thanks to the Participants for attending and the Organizers for inviting him to speak.

In his latest text in Rzeczpospolita, Dr. Michal Markiewicz writes about the importance of determining the moment at which intellectual property rights are transferred to the buyer, including, above all, whether these rights can be transferred with effect from a specific moment in the past. The text was inspired by the judgment of the EU General Court of April 26, 2023, in case number T-757/21. Publicly available excerpt from the article: https://archiwum.rp.pl/artykul/1497198-Czy-mozna-przeniesc-prawo-wlasnosci-intelektualnej-na-wczesniej.html

The 10th Anniversary International Consumer Science Conference “The Contemporary Consumer Market – Sales and Services” is being held on June 15-16, organized by the Association of Consumer Advocates and the Institute of Law at the Cracow University of Economics under the patronage of the President of Competition and Consumer Protection, the President of the Energy Regulatory Authority, the President of the Office of Electronic Communications, the Provincial Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and the Rector of the Cracow University of Economics. Jaroslaw Sroczynski spoke today at the 1st Panel Discussion “The legal position of the consumer in the modern sales market”, which covered such issues as: Omnibus regulations and their impact on consumer promotions, Explanations of the OCCP as a tool for business, The satisfaction criterion in consumer guarantees, Consumer protection on digital platforms, OCCP actions: analysis of business questions and consumer complaints in the context of Omnibus. Thanks to the Organizers, Panelists, Participants and Ms. Professor Boguslawa Gnela for moderating the panel.