As of mid-November 2021, the status of the application for the registration of the trademark “Lody Ekipa” had not changed, and its applicant, entrepreneur Roman Hodurek, was patiently awaiting registration. In November, the spokesperson for the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland indicated that the Office was waiting for any objections until November 16, 2021; however, two weeks should be added to this period, as objections sent at the end of the aforementioned period may arrive during that time.
Nothing indicated that the situation would change, but recently it turned out that an objection to the registration of the “Lody Ekipa” trademark was filed by an ice cream manufacturer – the company PPL Koral. There is nothing surprising about this, as in the other case – if the disputed trademark were registered in favor of the entrepreneur from Krakow – a ban on the sale and advertising of products labeled as “Lody Ekipa” would apply throughout Poland, which, in the face of such marketing and business success, would be a self-defeating move for both the manufacturer and Ekipa (which operates as Ekipa Holding).
According to statements from both Koral and Ekipa, both entities have the situation under control and plan to continue developing the brand marked with the disputed trademark in 2022. Furthermore, Ekipa Holding emphasizes that the application for the “Lody Ekipa” trademark was filed in April 2021, i.e., when the ice cream, already on sale, had gained significant market popularity. In this case, the question arises whether the applicant intended to benefit from the efforts of Ekipa and Koral in promoting the brand and, above all, whether the application was made in bad faith.
How will the dispute between the parties unfold? This will certainly become clear in the coming year, especially since both Koral and Ekipa have strong arguments in their favor. It should be noted that the entity, i.e., Ekipa Holding, is listed in the Patent Office as the applicant for the “Ekipa” trademark, as well as for a very large number of trademarks containing the word “Ekipa,” which will certainly help in defending the rights to the disputed name.
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