New twist in saga of Metro free daily newspaper title
Media giant Agora, publisher of the Metro free daily newspaper, is demanding
that Polska Prasa Bezplatna (PPB) halt publication of competitor AGB Metro.
Metro was registered as a trademark by Agora on September 16, 1998, over two
years before the first issue of AGB Metro was published. Last week TPP,
publisher of another free daily, Metropol, obtained a court injunction
ordering Agora to halt publication of Metro, on the grounds that the concept
and title had been copied. Agora is now threatening to file a suit against
4Media Polska, owner of PPB, if within the next seven days it does not stop
using the Metro name. 4Media Polska spokesperson Monika Sarnecka said PPB
will continue to publish AGB Metro as the company fails to see the point of
the dispute. In response, Agora vice president Piotr Niemczycki said her
comments demonstrate a lack of respect for the laws regulating the market.
(Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 22; Rzeczpospolita, p. B4) M.T.K.
