The management of “European Games 2023” did not come to the thought of a sign. The Polish Euro 2012 Association, which applied to the Patent Office on 18 October 2022 for a reservation of the word sign "European Games 2023" and paid the application. The Patent Office was politically vigilant and refused to pre-record the sign.
The association did not give up, disagreed with the preliminary refusal and presented a position in which the argument of the office was rejected.
The distinctive ability of a trade mark is manifested primarily in the fact that it permits its identification. In accordance with the judgement of the ultimate Administrative Court of 20 April 2017 of the GSK 2313/15, ‘In order to recognise that a trade mark has a distinctive capacity, whether it possesses specified distinctive capacity from the outset (original distinctive ability) or has acquired it only by its usage (secondary distinctive ability), the mark must show its intrinsic characteristics, which will enable purchasers to separate it as originating in a given source, from another goods of the same kind having different origins.’
In the context of this ruling, it must be stated that the European IGREEN mark 2023 clearly points to the games that will take place in Europe in 2023, and thus not to any games at any time or anywhere in the world. This sign clearly indicates a circumstantial event identified as to character, time and place. It cannot be accepted that this would be a monopolisation of marketplace labels only for information. This claim would only apply if the application for a safeguard right afraid the return of the Games itself, for it is the unspecific name of the sporting event.
According to Kondrat Mariusz (ed.), Industrial Property Law. The comment "It should be noted that the mark should be assessed overall, i.e. if it consists of respective elements which may not have distinctive abilities separately, however, these elements may form an different composition, which makes the mark distinctive." Each of the elements of the European IGREEN mark 2023 alone does not have the distinctive ability to put together all the elements of the mark together, they constitute a composition which clearly indicates the type, place and time of the sporting event – reads the position of the Association
The association besides pointed to many examples in which words or a combination of words subject to the granting of a safeguard law were in general use, not accompanied by a graphic sign, but nevertheless did not prevent the granting of a safeguard right in the event of a notification. For example, “European studies” to the University of Warsaw (12.12.2002), “barehouse” to the company “Cheb and Games”, “Euro 2012” to UEFA, “board games” to Bucher and Harrisson, “Dorotka” to SWEDE, “Bazar Smaków” to Dobry Hotel Mięczkowski sp. kom., “Filharmonia Smaków” to R2 Center, “Smach Room” to the Piotr and Paweł Group, “Patron of Polish Ball” to Andrzej Gowarzewski.
So there were no grounds for refusal.
The Patent Office waited to make any decisions to lead to a situation where any effort to challenge the decision by the Association proved unsuccessful. After the Association had requested a decision, a rejection decision was issued on March 10. The decision continued to insist that a sign which is simply a combination of common words could not be registered, and that the Association indicated that The examples of the protection of trade marks identified by the applicant must not affect the case in question. The Patent Office of the Republic of Poland takes the view that each application for a trade mark is dealt with individually, having respect to the conditions of trade existing on the date of application of the trade mark, the applicable ellipse of recipients, as well as additional circumstances, i.e. evidence of secondary distinctiveness of the mark, and in relation to a peculiar notified mark, in order to meet the conditions of the Industrial Property Law. In another words, she decided to “see me” the Office.
Speech by the Association has only just realized that the issue of the protection mark of the Games has been neglected. The sign "European Games 2023" could no longer be reported, due to the fact that the procedure was pending, and so on 10 January, the company "European Games 2023" had strangely woken up and reported to UPRP 2 verbal-graphic signs of the KRAKÓW MAŁOPOLSKA EG 2023 3rd EUROPEAN GAMES and in a short time a notification was published in the Bulletin of the Office and the commencement of the opposition period which expired on 1 May.
The Polish Euro 2012 Association did not file an appeal against the decision or appeal against the UPRP decision. This would no longer make any sense before the settlement, even in a affirmative case, would not let the commercialisation of the European Games 2023, and proving the lost benefits would be highly hard in court.
However, the above situation means that all entrepreneur may usage the ‘European Games 2023’ sign and that the company of the same name will not benefit from it. Of course, if the Association sign were given, it would be possible to communicate and, through the assignment of rights, to warrant the legal protection of the European Games 2023. Thus neither the Association nor the European Games 2023 will earn.
Source: Service21
