Polish brand names not well protected abroad as trademarks go to foreigners

Polish companies are not able to protect their own trademarks and have neither sufficient money nor enough help from Polish diplomatic services. Poland's Belvedere vodka is manufactured in France while Krakus Polish ham will now be produced in the US. According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK), the government cannot represent entrepreneurs in fighting for product rights. In addition, Polish courts are not prepared to handle such issues and procedures go on for years. "It is enough to take over the trademark of a company to become its owner," said lawyer Dariusz Skuza. Without trademarks, $50 billion companies such as Coca-Cola are worth nothing, adds Andrzej Dlugosz of Pro-Marka Association. "The system of registering trademarks is adjusted to the past economy, when only a few 100 trademarks were registered annually," said Andrzej Dlugosz. (Prawo i Gospodarka, page 8) M.M.