News

The 24th edition of the International Book Fair in Krakow, i.e. four special days for authors and literature lovers, is behind us. We would like to thank the organisers, and in particular Ms Ewa Usowicz, editor-in-chief of Prawo.pl, a service provided by Wolters Kluwer, for organising an interesting discussion with the participation of experts from our team: Prof. Ryszard Markiewicz and Dr Sybil Stanislawska-Kloc, as well as the Head of the Intellectual Property Law Department of the Jagiellonian University, Prof. Andrzej Matlak. The discussion touched on many important copyright issues, and the inspiration for this meeting was the Wolters Kluwer publication “Copyright. The meeting was inspired by the Wolters Kluwer publication “Copyright Acts. Commentaries”, edited by Prof. Ryszard Markiewicz. Among the co-authors of the mentioned commentaries are the following lawyers from the M&S team: dr Michał Markiewicz, dr Sybilla Stanisławska – Kloc, dr hab. Michał Wyrwiński and dr Jakub Chwalba.

Recruitment for the 13th Edition of IP Student is behind us. Congratulations to all applicants – this year’s edition promises to be more than interesting! All persons interested in intellectual property law are particularly encouraged to participate in the workshops (Writing claims in unfair competition cases) and the lecture (Law in the fashion industry) conducted by a specialist from our team – Zuzanna Ochońska.

To quote from the organisers: “IP Student is a series of workshops on intellectual property law and new technologies. The IP Student workshop is organised by the Scientific Circle of the Society of Intellectual Property Law Supporters of the Jagiellonian University at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University […]”

Secrets, secrets… Jarosław Sroczyński (in the A2B relation, i.e. OCCP-entrepreneur) talked about them at the workshop on protection of intangible resources of a company. Thanks to the organiser MMC Poland and the Participants.

For nearly a decade we have been conducting in Markiewicz and Sroczyński cases of the so-called shelf charges as acts of unfair competition. Most often we defend against allegations that quantity discounts are prohibited (according to the sales principle: you buy more, you get a lower price per item). Often these discounts can only be settled retroactively, because it is not known in advance how much goods will be purchased by the chain of shops. This is where suppliers’ claims most often come into play. We are witnessing the evolution of judgments in these cases. Jarosław Sroczyński and Marcin Mioduszewski, legal adviser, also made a commentary on Article 15(1)(4) (and other provisions) of the Act on Combating Unfair Competition for Wolters Kluwer Polska. The current line of jurisprudence is well over 90% of retrospective discounts admitted. In a case in which we represented a retail chain, last Friday the Court of Appeal in Warsaw again found in favour of us, stating that such a rebate on turnover is not prohibited. However, for the first time the court referred, and approvingly, to our argument (Marcin Mioduszewski, Jarosław Sroczyński, Klaudia Wojakowska-Grochot and Zuza Ochońska) that negotiating a rebate is not an obligation at all. In other words: the retail chain, can simply present its offer or sales conditions, to which the supplier will agree or not (adhesion contract). Perhaps business logic dictates that this should be the case, but in the case law of the courts this has not been so obvious. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/pl-pl/solutions/lex

“Interesting news comes to us from UOKiK – the Office has decided to look into influencers and how they label sponsored content. This is an important topic with an important practical dimension, also in the context of possible misleading of consumers about the quality and origin of products.” We invite you to read Zuzanna Ochońska’s article “Consumer protection in the fashion industry” published in the latest issue of Zeszyty Naukowe UJ (153), addressing the potential consequences of the actions of influencers and entrepreneurs in the fashion market, using the example of the famous “label scandal” of the VECLAIM brand. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/pl-pl/solutions/lex

On 30 September 2021, IIIrd Energy Forum of Science and Economy took place, organized by INP PAN, “Mercatus et Civis” Foundation and the Association of Consumer Ombudsmen under the patronage of, among others: Minister of Climate and Environment, President of the Energy Regulatory Office and President of the Patent Office. Mr. Sroczynski appeared on the panel “New technologies – opportunities and threats”, sharing his thoughts on the practices of winning customers in the photovoltaic sector.

The VIIIth International Consumer Conference “Challenges for Consumer Law in Global, Regional and Local Dimensions” was held on 5-6 October 2021, organized by the Association of Consumer Ombudsmen and the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Łódź, under the patronage of the Presidents of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and the Office of Electronic Communication. Mr. Sroczyński participated in a panel discussion on effective enforcement of consumer rights, from traditional sales and services to new forms of trade.