The dispute concerns a weekly magazine, specifically its name – “Podlasiak.” It all began in 2018 when former journalists of the “Słowa Podlasia” magazine launched a project, the weekly “Podlasiak,” published by the Centrum Wydawniczo-Medialne “Podlasiak.” The newspaper under that name operated in the press market until the fall of 2019, when a new company, Grupa Medialna Podlasie, was registered, with the aim of publishing a new weekly, “Podlasianin.” What caused the sudden change in name and publisher? At the same time, a competing publisher, namely Grupa Wydawnicza Słowo, contacted the then-current editorial team of “Podlasiak” with claims to cease using the name, under penalty of a demand for payment of 5,000 PLN for each day the disputed name was used. The justification for these claims was the registration of the trademark “Podlasiak” with the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland.
In response to the demands of a competing company, Roman Laszuk, the editor-in-chief of the former “Podlasiak,” clearly stated that the mere registration of the disputed trademark by the other publisher was intended to block the competing company, as evidenced by, among other things, the awareness of Grupa Wydawnicza Słowo about the plans to launch the “Podlasiak” weekly. Furthermore, the competitor did not publish any issues of the magazine under the same name, so the publisher needed protection for this designation in order to launch a similar idea. As a result, the dispute between the local publishers ended up before the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, which, in its decision of February 2020, invalidated the “Podlasiak” trademark, to which Grupa Wydawnicza Słowo was entitled. According to the announcement by the editor-in-chief of the losing company, Piotr Pyrkosz, the company does not agree with the decision and will definitely appeal the unfavorable ruling. It is undoubtedly possible to expect further developments in the dispute over the name “Podlasiak,” especially since the same parties are also involved in civil proceedings, in which Grupa Wydawnicza Słowo is seeking almost 1.5 million zlotys for the use of the disputed name. However, these proceedings have n suspended until a final decision is reached in the case of the invalidation of the protection right to the “Podlasiak” trademark. How will the case unfold? We will certainly see this in the coming months, especially since, at present, the balance of power has clearly shifted in favor of the defendant company.
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