News

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.

Mr. Sroczynski and M&S were again recommended in the Expert Guides Competition and Antitrust 2021 legal ranking. “Expert Guides has been researching the world’s legal market for over 20 years and has become one of the most trusted resources for international buyers of legal services.” expertguides.com

On 13-15 September 2021 in Krakow, there was held the XXI Krakow Conference organised by the FORUM Educational Centre within the series MODERN Copyright and Intellectual Property Law. Dr Michał Markiewicz gave a lecture covering two issues: 1) the conflict between registered trademarks taking into account the provisions of the Act on Combating Unfair Competition, and 2) doubts around public communication of a work in CJEU rulings and Directive 2019/790. Prof. Ryszard Markiewicz delivered a lecture on: the principles of legal assessment of short fragments of text on the example of copyright protection of the phrase “To take the train by any means”, NFT technology or “Non-Fungible Token”, as well as “New cases, new images – old and new problems of copyright law (jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, Polish judicial decisions, new challenges for copyright law.

Global Competition Review published on 8 September 2021 an article on the Air Liquide/Betamed merger, with a statement by J. Sroczynski on the advisability of introducing the institution of a “monitoring trustee” participating in complex conditional concentrations.