Trade marks containing the names of towns, cities or other geographical locations can be registered by the Polish Patent Office, according to the District Administrative Court in Warsaw.

Polish company Sokpol produced a brand of mineral water under the trademark "Złoty Potok". This is also the name of a town known for its mineral water springs which is situated in the Jura Krakowsko–Częstochowska area of Poland, as well as being the name of another company that also produces mineral water.

It was argued that Sokpol should not be allowed to use the "Złoty Potok" trademark as its mineral water is not produced in the Złoty Potok area and so its registration of the trademark was in bad faith.

This was rejected (first by the patent office and, on appeal, by the district administrative court). The court ruled that "Złoty Potok" is a figurative and fanciful trademark which cannot be deemed to be a historical or geographical name and therefore was not necessarily associated with a specific place.

Court file no: VI SA/Wa 1995/08; VI SA/Wa 1996/08

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The original publication date for this article was 29/07/2009.