An offer and an advertisement as forms of dissemination of a work in light of Article 4 clause 1 of Directive 2001/29/EC – obviousness or a dilemma?

Pojęcie „jakiejkolwiek formy publicznego rozpowszechniania” utworu „w drodze sprzedaży lub w inny sposób” z art. 4 ust. 1 dyrektywy 2001/29/WE było interpretowane przez Trybunał Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej początkowo dość wąsko. Wyłączano z niego sytuacje, kiedy nie dochodziło jeszcze do przejścia władztwa na egzemplarze utworu. W wyroku w sprawie Peek&Cloppenburg odniesiono to pojęcie wyłącznie do przeniesienia własności, sprzeciwiając się rozciąganiu go na umożliwienie korzystania z reprodukcji chronionego utworu, a tym bardziej na samo jej wystawienie na widok publiczny. Takie rozstrzygnięcie miało znajdować oparcie w wykładni pojęcia „publiczne udostępnianie drogą sprzedaży”, przewidzianego w traktatach WIPO o prawach autorskich oraz o artystycznych wykonania i fonogramach.Zmianę przyniósł wyrok w sprawie Donner, w którym Trybunał uznał, że ww. pojęcie wymaga w prawie UE wykładni niezależnej od prawa mającego zastosowanie do transakcji, w ramach których doszło do rozpowszechnienia, oraz wykładni oderwanej od ściśle cywilistycznego znaczenia sprzedaży, a bardziej uwzględniającej uwarunkowania rynkowe. Takim rozpowszechnianiem jest więc każda transakcja ukierunkowana na udostępnienie klientom kopii utworów chronionych w danym państwie, w tym reklamę informującą ich o systemie dostawy i zapłaty za te kopie.Tę nową koncepcję dopełnił wyrok w sprawie Blomqvist, dotyczący wykładni ww. pojęcia w związku z pojęciem „używania w obrocie handlowym” z przepisów UE o znakach towarowych i zarazem na tle regulacji o egzekwowaniu ochrony praw własności intelektualnej przez organy celne. Uznając tożsamość  powyższych pojęć, TSUE przyjął, że jeśli według prawa państwa ochrony utworu za jego udostępnianie uważa się zarówno „publiczne rozpowszechnianie”, jak i sytuację, w której „oferowana jest sprzedaż, wynajem lub użyczenie jego kopii lub są one publicznie rozpowszechniane w inny sposób”, to wszystkie te działania należy uznać za rozpowszechnianie utworu, i to nawet wtedy, gdy dany towar pochodzi z państwa, w którym taka ochrona nie jest udzielana.Za słuszną należy więc uznać opinię rzecznika generalnego w sprawie Dimensione Direct Sales, który dopuścił stwierdzenie naruszenia prawa do rozpowszechniania utworu także w braku faktycznej sprzedaży jego egzemplarzy, jeśli tylko transakcja zakazana na podstawie tego prawa wpisuje się w kontekst wyraźnie sprzyjający zawarciu umowy sprzedaży. Taka interpretacja jest uzasadniona potrzebą zapewnienia autorom skutecznej kontroli nad komercjalizacją ich utworów, począwszy od ich reprodukcji, poprzez handel, aż do wyczerpania prawa.W konsekwencji, w ten sam sposób powinno być też rozumiane na tle art. 17 w zw. z art. 6 ust. 1 i 3 oraz art. 50 pkt 2-3 polskiego prawa autorskiego pojęcie korzystania z utworu.The concept of ‘any form of public dissemination’ of work ‘by way of sale or otherwise’ referred to in Article 4 clause 1 of Directive 2001/29/EC was initially interpreted by the ECJ rather narrowly, and merely excluded situations where the transfer of ownership of work had not been finalised. In the judgment in Peek&Cloppenburg, such approach was adopted only with regards the transfer of ownership, leaving the use of a reproduction of a protected work, and its public exposure in particular, subject to a provision ‘made accessible to the public through a sale’ included in WIPO treaties on copyright, artistic performances and phonograms.A change came with the judgment in Donner, where the ECJ ruled that the above concept required an independent construction in the European Union law, i.e. one that would apply to transactions within which dissemination took place and which would be distinct from a sale in the meaning of civil law provisions, rather taking into account the prevailing market conditions. Thuseach transaction directed upon providing access to and availability of reproductions of protected works, including advertisements informing of the form of delivery or supplies of reproductions and forms of payment thereof was treated as dissemination.This new concept became fully-fledged after the judgment delivered in Blomqvist which contained interpretation of the concept ‘using in commercial transactions’ taken from the EU provisions on trademarks, as well as a regulation sanctioning enforcement of IP rights protection. At the same time it concerned interpretation of the above concept in connection with a concept ‘using in commercial transactions’ contained in the EU provisions on trademarks, as well as the regulation on the enforcement of the protection of intellectual property by customs bodies. Recognising the identity of the above concepts, the CJEU ruled that if, pursuant to a national law of a Member State, protection of work from public availability includes its protection against ‘public dissemination’ as well as ‘a sale, lease or use of a reproduction of work is offered, or where they are publicly disseminated otherwise’ all these activities must be considered as disseminating work even if the work originates in a state where such protection is not granted.Thus the opinion voiced by the General Ombudsman in Dimensione Direct Sales, who allowed inclusion of a statement of an infringement of the binding law prohibiting dissemination of work also in the event of an actual absence of sale if only a transaction prohibited by provisions of that law lies within a context clearly conducive to making a contract. Such interpretation is justifiedas authors must be ensured effective control over commercialisation of their works starting from reproduction through trading (circulation) to the exhaustion of copyright.The concept of using work referred to in Article 17 in connection with Article 6 clause 1 and 3 and Article 50 point 2-3 should be construed likewise

The Offence under Article 305 of the Industrial Property Law and the Limitations of Protection Law for a Trademark (in Particular Due to Tolerance): Comparative Legal Remarks in the Context of the Planned Amendment of the IPL Provisions

Among the rights that precede rights in the registration of a trademark, Polish law does not take into account the rights to signs acquired as a result of their use in trade. It also does not take into account such rights in regard to excluding the effectiveness of the right from registration due to the tolerance of such rights arising later. Meanwhile, the aforementioned rights are raised not only in cases of infringement of the protection right for a trademark but also in criminal cases concerning a counterfeit trademark (Art. 305 of the Industrial Property Law). In connection with the proposed deregulation of the Industrial Property Law Act, a question arises about the need for a more comprehensive amendment of the relevant provisions. This question also concerns the provisions on criminal liability, namely whether they should not directly – as is the case with the provisions on civil liability – condition the claim for protection of the right to a trademark from its (full) effectiveness in a given case, including in the context of fulfilling the requirement of genuine use of the mark. These questions become all the more justified in the light of the comparison of the above-mentioned legal status with the solutions in this regard in other EU Member States (e.g. in German law) – in terms of the competitive legal position of enterprises using trademarks belonging to them in these countries, respected on the basis of national [email protected] Trzebiatowski – profesor zwyczajny, pracownik Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego Jana Pawła II, radca prawny, rzecznik patentowy, arbiter Sądu Polubownego ds. Domen Internetowych przy Polskiej Izbie Informatyki i Telekomunikacji oraz Sądu Arbitrażowego przy RP Konfederacja Pracodawców Prywatnych „Lewiatan”, prezes Instytutu Ekspertyz Własności Intelektualnej i Dóbr Niematerialnych w Gdańsku, biegły sądowy.Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, PolskaBalicki M., Szybciej, taniej, bardziej innowacyjnie? Projekt nowej ustawy Prawo własności przemysłowej, https://spcgblog.pl/ip/szybciej-taniej-bardziej-innowacyjnie-projekt-nowej-ustawy-prawo-wlasnosci-przemyslowej.Criminal Liability for Trademark Infringement. A Collaborative International Study (praca zbior.), Merchant&Gould. A Technology & Innovation Law Firm, styczeń 2021, https://www.vda.pt/xms/files/05_Publicacoes/2021/CriminalLiabilityForTrademarkInfringement.pdf.Czarny-Drożdżejko E., Wybrane problemy stosowania art. 305 ustawy – Prawo własności przemysłowej, „Prokuratura i Prawo” 2005, nr 10.Göpfert W.W., Die Strafbarkeit von Markenverletzungen, Karlsruhe 2006.Kostański P., Prawo własności przemysłowej. Komentarz, Warszawa 2010.Król-Bogomilska M., Wprowadzenie do obrotu towarów oznaczonych podrobionym znakiem towarowym. Glosa do uchwały SN z dnia 24 maja 2005 r., I KZP 13/2005, Glosa 2007, nr 3.Kuberski D., Karnoprawna ochrona znaku towarowego, Warszawa 2021.Raglewski J., Prawo własności przemysłowej. Komentarz do przepisów karnych, LEX 2016.Szewc A., Przestępstwa i wykroczenia przeciwko prawom własności przemysłowej, „Białostockie Studia Prawnicze” 2015, nr 19.Trzebiatowski M., (w:) Sieńczyło-Chlabicz J. (red.), Prawo własności przemysłowej. Komentarz, Warszawa 2020.Trzebiatowski M., Zakaz „Venire” wskutek bezczynności wobec używania znaku towarowego (także renomowanego) – zwłaszcza na gruncie przepisów uznk (na tle orzecznictwa), (w:) S. Byczko, A. Kappes (red.), Księga pamiątkowa ku czci prof. W. Katnera, Warszawa 2022 (w druku).Zięba M.J., Rola orzecznictwa Sądu Najwyższego w prawidłowej subsumpcji czynu pod normę prawa karnego materialnego na tle prawnokarnej ochrony znaków towarowych (art. 305 p.w.p.), (w:) M. Sadowski, P. Szymaniec (red.), Acta Erazmiana. Prace z zakresu integracji europejskiej oraz nauk penalnych, Wrocław 2011.271557

A multi-criteria decision making approach for the evaluation of roads and streets system in Gniezno

The article presents the application of the MCDM methods, belonging to the PROMETHEE family, for the evaluation of potential solutions of the road system (RS) in the selected area located in Gniezno, historical capital of Poland. The proposed set of heuristics variants of RS were assessed by a coherent family of criteria taking into account different groups of stakeholders. The decision problem was defined as an issue of prioritising a finite number of variants of road-rail system reconstruction. The proposed model of decision-maker’s preferences was developed based on the results of surveys conducted during public consultations with the residents of the area. The originality of the study consists in that the model became the basis for the final variants ranking that was subsequently compared with the results obtained using another MCDM method – ELECTRE III, where the decision-maker's preference model was developed on the basis of information obtained from independent experts

“Awareness” of The Use of A Subsequent Trademark as A Condition of Loss Claims for Violation of The Law to The Earlier Trademark Due to Tolerate – Polish Law on The Background of The Comparative

For some time in the practice of trademark more and more often there are cases of so-called. tolerances (i.e. acquiescence) of by the proprietor of the trademark the use of similar trademark registered with the later priority. As a result ofmaintaining a state of tolerance for a long time there is a loss on the side of the proprietor of the earlier of the right to claim to invalidity of the later trademark, as well to prohibit its use. The main condition of such an effect is an awareness ofthe proprietor of the former trademark about use of the conflicting subsequent trademark. There are two basic questions relating to the above issue: 1) if such awareness is not only positive knowledge, but also the duty of knowledge, and 2)if this awareness may be the result of presumption, i.e. if it can be demonstrated by facts, for which, however, you can not deny the existence of knowledge of the proprietor of prior trademark about the presence of the later mark in a givenmarket. The answer to both these questions should be positive, what convince the guidelines for harmonization effect in view of the international legal practice in this matter which are adopted among the members of such organization as AIPPI,including Poland

Legal conditions for marking goods on the EU market with the designation of the type "Made in" (part 2)

Prawidłowość użycia przez przedsiębiorców na rynku unijnym oznaczenia typu „Made in” jest kwestią mocno względną. Brak jasnej, jednoznacznej i wiążącej regulacji prawnej dla określenia pochodzenia, w tym odnoszącej się do wszystkich rodzajów produktów, wymusza zastosowanie w tym celu wielu kryteriów. Ogólne kryterium normatywne ujęte jest wąsko, bo odwołuje się do przynależności produktu do danej pozycji taryfowej w zakresie ceł. Będzie ono zatem często wymagać korekty. Służą do tego kryteria techniczne i ekonomiczne. Podlegają one rozpatrzeniu głównie z punktu widzenia wartości dodanej produktu. Niekiedy jednak znaczenie mogą mieć też uwarunkowania związane z ustaleniem tzw. ceny ex works, a dodatkowo — albo zamiennie — z przebiegiem procesu wytwórczego lub konstrukcją czy właściwościami produktu. Ponadto konieczna jest konfrontacja efektu zastosowania tych kryteriów z konsumenckim zakazem wprowadzania w błąd. Niemniej należy liczyć się z tym, że w pewnych sytuacjach zakaz taki podlega uchyleniu wskutek wyraźnego oparcia oznaczenia pochodzenia na indywidualnych aspektach produkcyjnych. Trzeba również mieć świadomość, że taki stan prawny sprzyja występowaniu aktów nieuczciwej konkurencji pod względem oznaczenia pochodzenia. Wreszcie, czego wykazaniu też służy niniejsza analiza, przedsiębiorcy mogą spotkać się z trudnościami w omawianej kwestii także wobec istnienia na płaszczyźnie krajowej, w zakresie pewnej kategorii produktów, szczególnych przepisów dotyczących wskazania na ich rodzime pochodzenie.Correct use of the designation "Made in" by entrepreneurs on the EU market is a highly relative issue. The lack of a clear, unambiguous and binding legal regulation for determining the origin, including that applicable to all types of products, forces the use of many criteria for this purpose. The general normative criterion is narrowly defined because it refers to the affiliation of a product to a given tariff heading in terms of customs duties. It will therefore often need to be adjusted. Technical and economic criteria are used for this. They are mainly considered from the point of view of the added value of the product. Sometimes, however, the conditions relating to the fixing of the so-called ex-works price, and additionally — or alternatively — to the course of the manufacturing process or the structure or characteristics of the product, may also be relevant. Moreover, it is necessary to confront the effect of the application of these criteria with the consumer prohibition of misleading. However, it should be taken into account that in some cases such a prohibition is to be repealed by expressly basing the designation of origin on individual production aspects. One should also be aware that such a legal situation is conducive to the occurrence of acts of unfair competition in terms of marking the origin. Finally, which is also demonstrated by this analysis, entrepreneurs may encounter difficulties in the discussed issue also due to the existence at the national level, in the scope of a certain category of products, of specific provisions regarding the indication of their native origin

When hostess makes a difference in off-premises contract? – Commentary to order of the Cjeu Of 17.12.2019, C-465/19 B&L Elektrogeräte

A consumer off-premises contract still raises doubts, even in terms of basic concepts. In the context of Directive 2011/83, a problem arose how to understand a “public place” in which the contact established by the trader with the consumer in a personal and individual way, which directly results in the conclusion of a contract, makes it an off-premises contract. It was about the contact made by the hostess in the aisle of exhibition fairs leading to trade stands. Until now, it seemed that the consumer had to take into account the offers of traders right from the threshold of the market hall. The CJEU considered that in this case the contract was concluded off-premises. This decision has a significant impact on German practice, which was going in a different direction, as well as on Polish practice, in which there is no relevant case law.Konsumencka umowa poza lokalem przedsiębiorstwa budzi nadal wątpliwości, i to nawet w zakresie pojęć podstawowych. Na tle dyrektywy 2011/83 powstał problem, jak rozumieć „miejsce publiczne”, w którym kontakt nawiązany przez przedsiębiorcę z konsumentem w sposób osobisty i indywidualny, a skutkujący bezpośrednio zawarciem umowy, powoduje, że jest ona umową poza lokalem przedsiębiorstwa. Chodziło o kontakt nawiązany przez hostessę w alei targów wystawienniczych prowadzącej do stoisk handlowych. Dotąd wydawało się, że konsument już z przekroczeniem progu hali targowej musi liczyć się z ofertami handlowców. TSUE uznał, że w tym przypadku umowa została zawarta poza lokalem przedsiębiorstwa. Rozstrzygnięcie to ma istotny wpływ na praktykę niemiecką, która zmierzała w innym kierunku, jak i na praktykę polską, w której brak relewantnego orzecznictw

MCDM Approach to the Excise Goods Daily Delivery Scheduling Problem. Case Study: Alcohol Products Delivery Scheduling under Intra-community Trade Regulations

AbstractThis paper presents a multiple criteria decision making approach for solving the excise goods daily delivery scheduling problem. The presented procedure enables to determine the schedule of deliveries from many suppliers to one consignee. The algorithm combines heuristic approach and the Light Beam Search method. The minimal dispersion of unloadings in the consignee's warehouse as well as minimal dispersions of loadings in suppliers’ warehouses are the criteria used for selecting the most satisfactory delivery schedule. The paper presents also an example of application of the proposed algorithm in the real problem concerning alcohol products delivery scheduling under Intra-Community Trade regulations

Location of airports - selected quantitative methods

Background: The role of air transport in  the economic development of a country and its regions cannot be overestimated. The decision concerning an airport's location must be in line with the expectations of all the stakeholders involved. This article deals with the issues related to the choice of  sites where airports should be located. Methods: Two main quantitative approaches related to the issue of airport location are presented in this article, i.e. the question of optimizing such a choice and the issue of selecting the location from a predefined set. The former involves mathematical programming and formulating the problem as an optimization task, the latter, however, involves ranking the possible variations. Due to various methodological backgrounds, the authors present the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches and point to the one which currently has its own practical application. Results: Based on real-life examples, the authors present a multi-stage procedure, which renders it possible to solve the problem of airport location. Conclusions: Based on the overview of literature of the subject, the authors point to three types of approach to the issue of airport location which could enable further development of currently applied methods

A multi-criteria decision making approach for the evaluation of roads and streets system in Gniezno

The article presents the application of the MCDM methods, belonging to the PROMETHEE family, for the evaluation of potential solutions of the road system (RS) in the selected area located in Gniezno, historical capital of Poland. The proposed set of heuristics variants of RS were assessed by a coherent family of criteria taking into account different groups of stakeholders. The decision problem was defined as an issue of prioritising a finite number of variants of road-rail system reconstruction. The proposed model of decision-maker’s preferences was developed based on the results of surveys conducted during public consultations with the residents of the area. The originality of the study consists in that the model became the basis for the final variants ranking that was subsequently compared with the results obtained using another MCDM method – ELECTRE III, where the decision-maker's preference model was developed on the basis of information obtained from independent experts

Validation of Hydraulic Mechanism during Blowout Trauma of Human Orbit Depending on the Method of Load Application

The more we know about mechanisms of the human orbital blowout type of trauma, the better we will be able to prevent them in the future. As long as the buckling mechanism’s veracity is not in doubt, the hydraulic mechanism is not based on equally strong premises. To investigate the correctness of the hydraulic mechanism’s theory, two different methods of implementation of the hydraulic load to the finite element method (FEM) model of the orbit were performed. The intraorbital hydraulic pressure was introduced as a face load applied directly to the orbit in the first variant, while in the second one the load was applied to the orbit indirectly as a set of nodal forces transferred from the external surface of the eyeball via the intraorbital tissues to the orbital walls within the contact problem. Such an approach is aimed at a better understanding of the pattern for the formation of blowout fractures during the indirect load applied to the orbital bones. The nonlinear dynamic analysis of both numerical models showed that the potential fracture was observed in the second variant only, embracing a relatively large area: both medial and lower wall of the orbit. Interestingly, the pressure generated by the intraorbital entities transferred the energy of the impact to the orbital sidewalls mainly; thus, the nature of the mechanism known as the hydraulic was far from the expected hydraulic pressure. According to the eyeball’s deformation as well as the areas of the greatest Huber-Mises-Hencky (H-M-H) stress within the orbit, a new term of strut mechanism was proposed instead of the hydraulic mechanism as more realistic regarding the investigated phenomenon. The results of the current research may strongly influence the development of modern implantology as well as affect forensic medicine