The matter concerns the famous “Cieszyn Sandwiches” and, above all, the protective right to this verbal trademark, which has n held by “Społem” Powszechna Spółdzielnia Spożywców “Konsum Robotniczy” in Cieszyn since 2016. As you can see, the sandwiches produced and offered to customers were so good and popular that the Cooperative decided to register the trademark covering the name of the popular dish in advance. As time has shown, this was a very good decision, which brought positive results at the beginning of 2020. One of the customers, who regularly purchased various types of deli products from the Cooperative, violated the terms of the agreement between the parties and, under the “Cieszyn Sandwiches” brand, sold not only official Społem products but also other sandwiches that he produced himself and labeled with the trademark in question. However, the actions of the unscrupulous contractor did not end there, as he also created a Facebook fan page called “Kanapki Cieszyńskie,” where he actively promoted his business. As a result, through such actions, customers were regularly misled about the origin of the sandwiches sold, which constituted not only a violation of the protective right to the trademark but also an act of unfair competition.
However, the entire matter was noticed by the Cooperative, which took appropriate steps to protect its brand. As a result, considering the recent actions of Społem’s counterparty, the parties had to reach an agreement. This is confirmed by the fact that an official statement from the Cooperative’s counterparty appeared on the information page of Śląsk Cieszyński, in which it apologizes to Społem and all its customers for infringing on the “Kanapki Cieszyńskie” trademark and misleading potential customers by creating a page on the Facebook portal.
Interestingly, the president of the Cooperative pointed out that its employees constantly monitor the internet and the market for instances of impersonating the manufacturer of “Cieszyńskie Kanapki” or violating the law protecting the trademark.
As you can see, you never know when it will be necessary to register a trademark, but you don’t have to wait long to see the effectiveness of such steps, especially when you have a popular product, even on the local market.
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