most interesting rulings | In Principle

The new ruling by the Court of Justice on the “repair clause” gives more freedom to manufacturers of non-original replacement parts.

Can an authorized retailer be prohibited from selling online or on a third-party online platform?

The Court of Justice has ruled that under the EU principle of freedom of establishment, transfer of the registered office of a Polish company abroad within the European Economic Area cannot be conditioned on conducting liquidation of the company in Poland.

The advocate general at the Court of Justice has issued his opinion on parallel Schweppes trademarks functioning in different EEA countries and registered for separate proprietors.

Can the scope of authority of the representative of a foreign undertaking in a Polish branch be limited in practice to comply with the principal’s expectations?

CJEU Advocate General Melchior Wathelet issued his opinion in C-284/16 Achmea on 19 September 2017. He takes the view that the existence of bilateral investment treaties between member states is compatible with EU law.

The Court of Justice held in Esaprojekt sp. z o.o. v Województwo Łódzkie (Case C-387/14) that a contractor entering a tender individually cannot rely on the experience of a group of contractors it was a member of in performing another public contract if the contractor was not actively and specifically involved in performance of the contract. The ruling, issued in the context of a Polish tender, is widely regarded in Poland as controversial. But is the conclusion by the Court of Justice requiring experience to be based on actual experience really debatable?

There has been a great divergence in interpretation of the grounds for retention of bid bonds. A recent resolution by the Supreme Court should unify the practice of contracting authorities on this issue. But the justification for the resolution itself admits certain exceptions from the obligation to retain the bid bond, even when the documents submitted by the contractor fail to confirm fulfilment of the requirements of the tender.

According to the advocate general’s opinions in C-434/15 Elite Taxi and C-320/16 Uber France, Uber does not provide information society services, but local transport services which may be regulated by EU member states.

In a judgment issued on 22 June 2017 the Court of Justice took a negative view of the Hungarian system of licences for operation of online gaming. The judgment was preceded by an opinion by Advocate General Maciej Szpunar providing an excellent example of reasoning in cases involving restrictions imposed by EU member states on the freedom to provide services.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a commercial agent may retain the right to a commission if the client intentionally refuses to perform the contract because the principal’s attitude has caused the client to lose confidence in the principal. The ruling also clarifies doubts surrounding the effect that partial non-performance of the contract has on the agent’s commission.

Recent case law from Poland and the EU shows that it is tough to gain protection for a 3D trademark in the form of the shape of a product. Maintaining the protection of such a mark may also be a problem.