Unfair Competition Law, Litigation, Enforcement of Industrial Property Rights and Remedial Measures

Unfair Competition Law

Unfair competition laws protect competitors from the unlawful conduct of their business rivals. As examples, unfair competition laws prohibit interference with business relationships, disparagement, and defamation, invasion of privacy, palming off, plagiarism, unfair competition, deceptive trade practices, fraud, misrepresentation, and other related conduct.

Many unfair competition issues arise in conjunction with infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property.

We can obtain many favourable decisions for our clients enjoining unfair competitive acts such as copying of our clients’ distinctive product shapes (product configurations), packaging (trade dress), patents (inventions, ideas), utility models (technical solutions) and names (trade mark)…

Litigation

We represent clients’ interests on both sides of these issues in courts as well as Offices throughout the Czech Republic. In addition, firm attorneys assist and consulted in connection with enforcement activities worldwide playing key roles in the strategy and coordination of foreign litigation.

Firm attorneys have highly trained abilities to understand modern technology and to explain it in concise, common sense terms. Equally important, firm attorneys have a thorough understanding of intellectual property law and the ability to work closely with other scientists and engineers, identifying what is truly important and what is not.

While litigation is expensive and time consuming and should be considered a remedy of last resort, it is often the only way to resolve conflicts. The enforcement of patents, trade marks, copyrights and other intellectual property matters through litigation and related activities, has been a principal component of the firm’s practice since its founding.

Enforcement of Industrial Property Rights

The patent owner may require towards a third person

• a) which for the purpose of direct or indirect economic or commercial benefit possessed the goods infringing the Right, or
• b) which for the purpose of direct or indirect economic or commercial benefit used the services infringing the Right, or
• c) of which it has been ascertained that for the purpose of direct or indirect economic or commercial benefit it rendered services used in the course of activities infringing the Right, or
• d) which has been designated by a person mentioned in paragraphs a), b) or c) as a person participating in manufacture, processing, storing or distribution of goods or rendering services, action related to the origin and the distribution networks of the goods or services by which the Right has been infringed.

Should the information under national regulation fail to be volunteered within a reasonable time limit, the Authorized Person may claim such information by lodging an action with the court relating to the infringement upon the Right. The court shall dismiss the action where it would bear no proportion to the importance of endangering of or infringement upon the Right.

The information shall include

• a) name and surname or corporate name or business name and place of permanent residence or registered office of the manufacturer, processor, distributor, supplier and other previous possessor of the goods or service infringing the Right,
• b) details of the manufactured, processed, supplied, stored, received or ordered quantity and of the price received for the given goods or services.

Remedial Measures

Should an infringement upon the Rights occur, the Authorized Person may seek a judicial decision that the infringer refrain from acts by which the Right is infringed or namely in particular

• -by recall of products the manufacture or launch or storage of which resulted in endangering of or infringement upon the Right,
• -by permanent removal or destruction of products the manufacture or launch or storage of which resulted in endangering of or infringement upon the Right,
• -by recall, permanent removal or destruction of materials, tools or equipment intended for or used exclusively or mostly in the course of activities endangering or infringing the Right.

The court shall not order the destruction where the infringement upon the Right may be removed in a different manner and the destruction would be inadequate to such an infringement. Should the remedial measures aim at products, materials, tools or equipment not owned by the infringer of the right, the court shall take into consideration the interests of the third parties, in particular consumers and persons acting bona fide. The removal of label or counterfeited trademark from the products before launching thereof may be permitted only in extraordinary cases.